


The Legend of Rose: Skyward Sniper

by HowlingArmadillo



Series: The Legend of Rose [1]
Category: Homestuck, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Archery, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Gen, Sisters, The Legend of Rose AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-16 10:43:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3485264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowlingArmadillo/pseuds/HowlingArmadillo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a dark wind sweeps Rose Lalonde away, it falls to the unlikeliest of sources to surpass the limits of human kind to get her back: her sister.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Breath Waker](https://archiveofourown.org/works/865118) by [mitspeiler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitspeiler/pseuds/mitspeiler). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A work inspired by Mitspeiler's breath waker. May he one day finish that beautiful bit of writing.

_This is a tale that you humans have passed down through uncounted generations…_

_It tells of a war of unmatched scale and ferocity, the likes of which would never be seen again._

_One Dark, fateful day, the earth cracked wide and malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure._

_They mounted a brutal assault upon the surface people, driving the land into deep despair. They burnt forests to ash, choked the lands sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation._

_They did all this in their lust to take the ultimate power protected by Her Grace, the goddess. The power she guarded was without equal. Handed down by gods of old, this power gave its holder the means to make any desire a reality. Such was the might of the ultimate power that the old ones placed it in the care of the goddess._

_To prevent this great power from falling into the hands of the evil swarming the lands the goddess gathered the surviving humans on an outcropping of earth. She sent it skyward, beyond the reach of the demonic hordes. Beyond even the clouds._

_With the humans safe, the goddess joined forces with the land dwellers and fought the evil forces, sealing them away. At last, peace was restored to the surface._

_This is a tale that you humans have told for many ages, generation to generation. But there are other legends, long hidden away from memory, that are intertwined with this tale. Now, a new legend bound to this great story stands ready to be revealed; a legend that will be forged by your own hands._

“And so, in short, that’s why you little shitholes need to get your act together and stop fucking around during class.” Brock Strider closes the book he’s been reading from and gives the kids assembled in front of him a stern glare. Karkat, Dave, Sollux, John, Rose, and Roxy gaze up at him and nod dutifully. It isn’t the first time they’ve been here, getting lectured on the different shit they pulled during class.

“Alright, get out of here. I don’t know why they keep sending you to me, I teach sword play precisely so I don’t have to deal with ankle biters.”

“That’s because you’ve got time to spare, bro.” Dave pipes in, prompting a snort of laughter from Sollux.

“You keep that shit up, go ahead. I know where you live.” Brock swats at Dave with the flat of his wooden sword, and he runs out howling with laughter, Karkat and Sollux in tow. Rose and John take that opportunity to shake Roxy into alertness, before running for it themselves.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you, Roxy.” Brock snaps irritably. “You need to stop slacking off during class. You could go far if you tried. Rose, you and I both know you’re smarter than this. John, you and I both know you’re better than this. You guys aren’t like my little bro or his asshole friends, you’ve got potential, all of you. You just need to start giving a shit.

“Thank you sir.” John says solemnly, walking out the door. Rose smiles at Brock and follows him. Roxy just laughs and leaves.

Brock sighs as the voices grow more distance outside his door. “Can’t help them any more than that. Fucking kids, give them some good advice and they just laugh in your face.”

 

“I’m going to go study.” John announces as he walks across the courtyard. “I need to catch up on everything I missed.”

“Taking Mr. Strider’s comments seriously, are we?” Rose asks bemusedly, watching John rush ahead. “Is John Egbert going to move up in the world?”

“You bet!” John grins broadly, spinning around. “I’m going to be the best student this school’s ever seen! Until I’m known all across The Sky!”

“Well then, I suppose I’ll have to take things seriously myself.” Rose giggles, “You won’t beat me. After all, Mr. Strider did specifically state that I am the smart one.”

“Well he called me the better one, and I won’t disappoint.” John nods resolutely. “Besides, I’m tired of always disappointing my family. No more goofing off in class, no more following Dave’s crew and breaking the rules. I’m going to make my family proud!”

“Yeah well have fun with that.” Roxy waves a hand lazily. “My grades are fine, so forgive me if I’m not too concerned.”

“Aww, come on Roxy, don’t you want to go far?” John asks.

“I’m happy where I am.”

“Suit yourself sister dear.” Rose pats Roxy on the shoulder with a smile. “I, for one, find John’s enthusiasm to be inspiring. Shall we go to the library then John?” John gives his signature goofball grin, offering an arm, which Rose gratefully accepts.

“See you later Roxy!” John grins broadly as he walks into the school building.

Roxy smiles and waves, glad nobody’s there to see her blush. She stands alone in the courtyard for a few minutes; gazing into the sky and watching the knights fly overhead. She smiles, but it’s bittersweet. Finally, she makes up her mind to go home, and strolls down the stairs into Skyloft. “I don’t want to be great or go far.” Roxy mutters to herself.

“I just want to be Roxy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first of a series I plan to do with all of my favorite Zelda games. It's my intention to focus on different characters each time, but I'm starting off by making Roxy the main character. Link is going to be all sorts of people by the time I'm done with him.  
> For those not aware, the story Bro Strider is reading is the text from the opening of the game. Word for word. It was a pain in the ass to copy.


	2. Skyloft's Chosen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Rose prepare for the biggest day of their lives, while Roxy seems not to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, shortly after I posted the prologue to this story, I ended up having a chat with mitspeiler, the guy whose work this fic is based on. We basically decided to promote this idea for an alternate universe and see if we can get people to join in. So if you feel like taking a crack at a Homestuck/Zelda crossover, feel free to use the tag "The Legend of Rose AU". We're just whoring it out here, seriously, go for it.

Roxy is alone. All around her is darkness, shadows, nothingness. She struggles to remember where she is; how she got there. Her mind is blank.

Suddenly a great monster emerges from the shadows. It’s eyes glow white, and it’s covered with coarse fur. She barely has time to recognize the glint of teeth before a flash of light blinds her.

_Rise hero._

_The time has come for you to awaken._

_You are fated to have a hand in a great destiny, and it will soon find you._

_The time has come for you to awaken._

_Roxy._

The light snuffs out as the beast emerges from the darkness once more in a flurry of fangs and rage. Roxy screams as the creature bears down upon her in a rush of wind.

“ROXY!”

“AAAH FUCK!”

Roxy wakes with a scream only to realize the monster is nowhere to be seen. She’s on her back, cradled in John’s arms, flying beneath Skyloft on his loftwing. “What the fuck? John, the hell is you doing here?”

John looks down at Roxy and she notices a trickle of blood running from a split lip. She probably punched him or something. And he does not look thrilled. “You were sleepwalking again Roxy. You wandered right off the side of the island, and I saw you and managed to catch you. At which point you started screaming and punched me in the face.”

Roxy groans at this. “Oh shit, John, I’m so sorry. I was having a serious nightmare.”

John touches down in front of the academy and lets Roxy down gently. “Well drinking before bed can do that to you.” He sighs sadly as Roxy gets on her feet shakily. “Roxy, this is supposed to be a big day for you, why are you messing around like this the night before?”

“I don’t know, I was stressing out! I wanted to take the edge off.” John’s bright yellow loftwing shrieks shrilly. “Good morning Casey!” Roxy starts scratching the large bird under its chin as it croons contentedly.

“Roxy.” John looks down at Roxy irritably. “You’re my friend, and I think you’re super awesome. But you need to get your act together! You’re going to fall somewhere the knights can’t reach you someday if you keep sleepwalking. You know the others all talk about you? There was a section in my training handbook with your name on it!”

“Sweet. Gotta get me that street-cred.” Roxy pats Casey on the bill one last time and walks away. “I’m gonna go shower before Rose gets on my case. I smell terrible.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything. Also street cred is a stupid phrase. There’s only two streets in Skyloft.”

“Details. Anyways, shower time.” John sighs, but Roxy can tell it’s halfhearted, because he smiles his same old dopey grin and flies off.

Roxy smiles to herself as she walks inside. John could never stay mad at her, and his criticisms always burned less for it.

 

“So John tells me you walked off the island again today.” Rose Lalonde comments noncommittally from the bed as Roxy changes.

Roxy does not like John anymore. Well that’s not true, she thinks he’s adorkable as always, but she does not in any way appreciate him snitching to his sister.

“I had a nightmare.” Roxy shrugs in a way that she hopes conveys how little she wants to talk about it.

“Yes, he mentioned that too. And he told me you punched him in the face.” Rose frowns bemusedly. “You should be ashamed, harming our precious Egdork like that.”

“It was an accident.” Roxy frowns, pulling a shirt over her head. “I was dreaming about some giant monster.”

“Oh yes, monsters are around every corner these days, aren’t they?” Rose frowns. “Little Nepeta still swears that she saw a demon by the graveyard.”

“Aww, she’s still monster hunting?” Roxy grins. “One day that kid is going to come home with some sort of goblin or something and send her mom into a panic.”

“Goblins are fairy tales Roxy.” Rose says with a sigh. “As is whatever twisted creature your drunk ass conjured up last night.”

“Probably. Anyways, gonna go kill some time before the Ceremony.”

Roxy rushes over to the door, but Rose’s voice freezes her in her tracks. “Roxy. We are talking about this.”

“No we’re not.”

“Yes, we are. Any other day I would let it go with a few questions, just to annoy you. But this is a big day for John, me, and possibly you. I say possibly because your drinking habits could very well be the thing that stands between you and winning the wing ceremony. Do you really want to lose the wing ceremony to Sollux? Or worse, Dave?”

“Bluuugh, I’d never hear the end of it.” Roxy sighs as she looks down and rubs her head irritably. “You forgot Karkat, btw.”

Rose smiles, “I did not. Karkat’s passable as a flier, but he only truly excels in his persistence. Between your opponents, Sollux and Dave are far above.”

“Well thanks for that sports update, Rosie.” Roxy salutes and turns for the door. “Now sit your butt down and stop worrying, I’m going to win the shit out of this competition.” She’s gone before Rose can interject further.

 

John sighs as he glides over the residential district of Skyloft, watching as the townspeople make their way to the square, which has been converted into a festival area to celebrate the competition. Various stalls selling everything from toys to food are lined up along the main road to the knight academy, which is open to the public to commemorate the occasion. In an hour or so, they’ll start making their way to the bleachers along the lakefront, where they’ll be able to watch the ceremony.

He sees a pink loftwing flying towards the Goddess statue and decides to play hooky a little, putting his trust in the other knights on duty. Casey makes a smooth turn, and John flies through the gate to meet with Rose at the foot of the Goddess Hylia’s visage.

“Rose! Did you talk to her yet?” John greets enthusiastically as he drops from Casey’s back to land beside Rose.

Rose whirls around irritably, and John’s face falls as he realizes he’s come at a very bad time. “Oh I talked to her,” Rose snaps, “But that doesn’t mean my dear sister deigned to listen.” John looks up pleadingly, but Casey gives him a look and just flies off with Jaspers, Rose’s loftwing. No escape.

“She dodged the subject again?”

“She dodged the subject again!” Rose cries out angrily. “She ran out of the room before I could properly confront her. And now she’s going to make a fool of herself at the ceremony.”

“No, she won’t.” John sighs as he sits down on the step. “She’s going to fly brilliantly like always, and not learn anything. That’s what she always does.”

“John, you’re in charge of the wing ceremony, couldn’t you just let somebody else win?” Rose looks down pleadingly, and it’s John’s turn to be annoyed.

“Rose, you know I can’t do that! This is my official debut as the youngest Sky Knight in the history of the academy! It’s very serious, and I’m actually kinda worried sick about it.” John looks at his feet and sighs. “Half the town already thinks I’m not ready.”

“John.” Rose sighs sadly and sits down beside John, pulling him into a hug with one arm. “You know that’s not true. You worked your ass off for this, and you and Casey fly better than anyone. Even Mituna thinks you’re incredible on a Loftwing, and he teaches the flying classes!”

John grunts, but Rose can see him crack a small smile. She sighs and concedes, “I shouldn’t have pressured you. You shouldn’t have to risk your job for the sake of my sister.” She smiles sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“You’re just worried.” John sighs. “I am too. But we both have jobs to do today, so let’s just worry about that for today.” He grins at Rose. “You finish your blessing?”

Rose grimaces. “It’s a poor excuse for a sky sail, but I suppose it’s done. Personally I far prefer knitting to sewing, but that would be rather ineffective for the job, wouldn’t it?” John chuckles at that.

“Well, now all you have to do is give it to whoever wins! And hope it’s your sister.”

“Indeed.” Rose purses her lips thoughtfully. “Everything else aside, I don’t think I could stand to deal with performing the ceremony with anyone else.”

John bursts into laughter. “I can only imagine. Dave and Sollux don’t take it seriously at all, and Karkat gets so nervous about these sorts of things that he’d probably just jump off the Goddess statue without the sailcloth!”

The two chuckle at that for a moment, before John sighs and stands up. “Well I’m going to get back on patrol before my dad fires me. I’ll see you at the ceremony!”

“Indeed. Just make sure to go easy on them, oh great and skilled knight, or else we’ll never get to my part.” Rose says with a wry smile.

John gives a straight-faced salute as he jumps off the island. “Your wish is my command, my goddess.” Rose laughs at this as John flies away, ever the cornball.

 

Far below Skyloft, at the sealed grounds, a cloaked figure creeps along the edge of a deep spiraling pit. They tread silently, investigating a strange feeling not felt in this sacred place for a very long time. Beneath them, at the core of the dark pit, a low noise, a rumbling in the ground, reverberates upward throughout the pit and into the forest beyond.

“Not long now.” A voice says smugly, barely discernable over the sound of the earth shaking. “You’ll be awake soon, and then we’ll see who’s in charge around here. It’s only a matter of time. I’ve finally found the goddess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously John is the best at flying. He's basically the characters Link and Pipit combined as far as his role in Skyloft is concerned, acting as the experienced friend of the protagonist, and the flying ace simultaneously. Rose got better grades than him, but couldn't keep up with him on the practical exams, so she's still hasn't graduated.
> 
> One thing I'm going to try to do in this story is fill out the Sky more than it was in the game. The sheer emptiness of the world in the clouds infuriated me when playing this game, since flying was kinda advertised as a big part of Skyward Sword. In the end the flight was kinda bullshit, and despite all the space there was to work with Skyloft was the smallest part of the game. I intend to make the place feel as big as it should have been.


	3. Coasting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat throws around some harsh truths as the Wing Cermony begins.

“Alright Tavros, pull!” Roxy calls out as she draws her bow.

Tavros sighs and tugs on the switch of the training yard catapult, sending a pumpkin flying. Roxy fires and redraws fast enough to put three arrows into the gourd before it lands in a sloppy mess.

“Yes! Am I good, or am I good?” Roxy punches the air with a grin, setting her bow down on the table beside her.

“Well, uhh, it was a good shot.” Tavros says reluctantly from behind her, “but don’t you think you, well, should be practicing things that maybe… are allowed in the ceremony? Shooting is definitely pretty much the only thing that isn’t okay.”

Roxy groans and leans back against the table. “Tavros, you’re a total sweetheart and all, but I am getting seriously sick and tired of people telling me what I shouldn’t be doing.”

“Okay, I can see that.” Tavros looks down at the ground, where his crutches are lying. “But I know if I qualified for the ceremony, I’d probably be practicing all the time, like Karkat is.”

Roxy looks over at him sympathetically. “Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself Tavros! You’re closer with your loftwing than anyone! They’ll let you in next time!”

“That’s, well, very nice of you to say…” Tavros looks down unconvinced, before looking up and smiling wryly. “Speaking of Loftwings… I think yours is ready to go.”

Roxy turns around and sees her purple loftwing eating the remains of the pumpkin out of the courtyard. “Good morning Frigglish!” She calls out gleefully, prompting the bird to look up and squawk happily, spitting out an arrow in the process. “You big goof, are you ready to win the Wing Ceremony? Of course you are!” She hops on Frigglish’s back and turns to face Tavros with a smile. “I’m going to the lake now Tavros, I’ll see you at the ceremony!”

She disappears in a flurry of feathers, and Tavros sighs, climbing down gingerly from the catapult. “I guess if I want to make it in time I’d better start walking.”

 

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this year’s Wing Ceremony! My name is Jade Harley, and I will be your special guest commentator this year! Joining me is Brock Strider, Master Swordsman of the Knight Academy! This year’s Wing Ceremony is sponsored by the Lumpy Pumpkin, the best place in The Sky for dining and entertainment alike! But not even the dulcet tones of our singers can compete with the spectacle prepared for today, isn’t that right, Brock?”

“You’re darn right, Jade. The Wing Ceremony always promises to be the highlight of the year, but this time is special. This is the bicentennial anniversary of our academy. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the big two-oh-oh. And in honor of our anniversary, we’ve got a special treat just for you. This year’s wing ceremony is going to have a special twist, something never done before, that will put our participants through the most grueling challenge ever seen!”

“But more on that later! We’re starting off this show with a special performance. You all know the Skyloft knights are a sight to behold in the air! But their training on land is equally strenuous! So here to present to you the combat skills learned at the academy, please give a hand to the current commander of the Skyloft Knights, Atticus Egbert!”

 

“Looks like Dadbert’s starting the tourney.” Dave says from his vantage point. He and the other participants in the wing ceremony are assembled at the goddess statue, waiting for their turn. “Damn, this is boring as shit, why can’t we just fly down and watch?”

“Probably so that we don’t fucking embarrass ourselves before we’re supposed to.” Karkat says nervously, pacing back and forth in front of the statue. “Can’t go making fools of ourselves before Atticus can introduce us.”

“Save it KK, your spazzing out may be the only chance you’ll get to entertain the audience today.” Sollux drawls lazily from his perch up on the feet of the goddess statue.

“Yeah man, don’t blow your load.”

“Fuck off, both of you! Just because you can usually coast along without trying doesn’t mean it’s going to work this time! We’re not just trying to catch some stupid bird, we’re going up against Egbert!”

Dave pauses. “Fair point. John’s a damn good flyer. Leaf on the wind and all that noise. Still, if we all know we’re outclassed, then it’s not really something we need to worry about. We just have to embrace the fact that John’s going to fuck us all up, and prepare our asses as best as we can.”

“Speak for yourselves, I’m winning this thing!” Roxy declares confidently from the side.

There’s a beat as Dave and Sollux look at each other, and promptly burst out laughing. Karkat just glares. “This coming from the person who forgot where we’re supposed to be starting. Not to mention your little fall off the island today.”

“Big deal, once I get in the air nobody’s stopping me!” Roxy says defensively, trying not to look too offended.

Karkat growls, as Dave and Sollux stop laughing and look over to him eagerly. “Oh man, is it time?” Dave asks with a grin. “He’s been bottling this up for ages, tell me it’s time.”

“I should stay quiet just to deny you the satisfaction.” Karkat says irritably, not so much as glancing in Dave’s direction. “But not this time. I’m fed up.”

“Whoa there, no need to get all hostile, we’re all friends here!” Roxy says nervously. She has a bad feeling that she’s in for her fourth lecture of the day, and she hasn’t even spoken to her mother yet.

“Not this time!” Karkat shrieks angrily. “No, I am sick and tired of you most of all, Lalonde. What the fuck makes you think you’re going to win this? Sollux is the better flyer. Dave is more skilled on foot. And you think you’re going to beat them? Where the fuck do you get off?”

“I’ve got plenty of skill!” Roxy protests angrily. “What makes you so sure I’m not good enough? I’m a hell of a lot better than you!”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Karkat brushes the abuse off easily. “I know damn well what my fucking faults are. But I also know that I work a hell of a lot harder than you ever have! Hell, I’m the only one who actually works at this at all!”

“He’s not wrong.” Sollux says casually. “We’re basically just as bad.”

“No, you’re not.” Karkat shakes his head. “I’ve been training for months. You can’t top that. But at least you’ve been training this week. Meanwhile Roxy here hasn’t trained outside of class even once! She’s too busy getting drunk!”

“I practice all the time!”

“Archery. You practice archery. I practice hand-to-hand, blade fighting, and flying every fucking day. Not to mention all of the studying I do, just to keep up with a bunch of assholes that don’t even have to try. But at the end of the day, you’re the worst of everyone, because you don’t recognize when to stop fucking around. Even these assholes are better than that.”

“Damn Sollux, I think Karkat just defended our honor.” Dave says after a moment. “I am feeling the love right now.”

“That makes two of us.” Sollux says with a grin. “That may be the nicest thing you’ve ever said about us, KK.”

“Fuck off, both of you.” Karkat blushes and turns aside. Roxy is left alone with her thoughts, as the others direct their attention back to the Ceremony.

“Well, looks like my bro won the tourney.” Dave comments dryly, “It’s about time for Rose to do her thing.”

 

“After an incredible match, it looks like Dirk Strider has proven the strongest of the Skyloft knights! A big round of applause to runner-up Latula Pyrope! Your thoughts on the results, Brock?”

“Well Jade, I’ve been kicking Dirk into shape ever since he was old enough to stand, so I can’t say I’m too surprised. Striders are just a level above. That said there’s more to being a knight than just swordplay. Make no mistake, Latula is still the best of what Skyloft has to offer.”

“Strong praise indeed! Now then, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for our main event: The Wing Ceremony! As you all know, every year the most promising students of our graduating class at the academy are chosen to compete in this test of skills! Who are our competitors this year, Brock?”

“This year we have four of the most unpredictable students I’ve ever seen in my time as an instructor. Let’s give a warm round of applause to Sollux Captor, Roxy Lalonde, Karkat Vantas, and Dave Strider!”

The four competitors run into view on the flight platform of the goddess statue’s island at Brock’s introduction. The cheering becomes deafening as they leap from the platform and as one, are carried away by their loftwings. The four land in a line in the dueling arena, and dismount in a smooth movement, save for Karkat who almost falls off of his loftwing. Then, as their loftwings rise to their full height, the Skyloft cadets stand at attention.

“All of these competitors are skilled in their own way, and all have their fair share of faults as well. But today may be the day that they prove themselves, as they vie for a chance at knighthood in our toughest test to date. They’ve got a lot to learn, but they all have the potential to become proper knights!” Brock intones as they take their positions.

“So Brock, let’s drop the suspense and get to the question everybody’s been asking. What makes this year so special?”

“I’m stoked you asked. I said these students have the potential to become proper knights. Well I’m proud to say that there’s living proof of that here today. The Skyloft Knights own John Egbert used to be a member of this very graduating class. But through hard work, dedication, and seriously impressive flying skills he managed to breeze through his classes, and is now the youngest ever Knight of Skyloft in recorded history.

“As John’s instructor, I couldn’t be prouder, unless of course I was Atticus Egbert, who is the indisputable master of fatherly pride. That said, not everyone is as confident as I am. Well we have heard your concerns, ladies and gentlemen, and to prove to you just how ridiculously wrong you all are, we are going to pit today’s competitors against John Egbert himself. He will stand against his old classmates, the ultimate example of everything it takes to become a knight. And it will be the most incredible thing to ever grace your eyes. Let’s give a warm welcome to John Egbert!”

The audience is notably subdued: some cheer, a few whistle, but overall the response is polite clapping. John is notably put out as he rises into view from behind the viewing platform, but smiles as best as he can all the same.

Jade’s voice rings out coldly once the applause peters out. “Don’t worry John, they’ll see. They’ll all see!” A stern look from Atticus Egbert causes her to change her tune immediately. “But first, we have one final order of business to conclude before the ceremony can officially commence! It’s time for the appearance of this year’s representative of the goddess! Everyone please remain silent for the ballad of the goddess.”

Rose rises from below just as John had, and steps down from her loftwing to an awed murmur. She walks lightly towards the front, placing a gentle hand on John’s arm as she passes him, earning a grateful smile.

Rose raises the goddess’ harp to her chest with a frown, wishing they had let her use her violin instead. Tradition is interfering with comfort as usual. She raises a hand to the harp, and attempts to clear her throat as discreetly as possible. She opens her mouth to sing.

It’s then that a voice calls out to her. She pauses, managing not to jump visibly, and glances quickly behind her. There’s nobody there. It’s not the first time that this has happened. And she has yet to discern who or what is calling her. But this is not the time to dwell on such things. She faces forward, refusing to meet Atticus Egbert’s concerned face, and instead focusing on performing the ballad correctly.

_“Oh youth, guided by the servant of the goddess, unite earth and sky, and bring light to the land._   
_Oh youth, show the two whirling sails the way to the Light Tower... and before you a path shall open, and a heavenly song you shall hear.”_

As she stops singing, the sound of brisk footsteps echoes across the platform. Rue Lalonde, headmaster of the Academy, arrives at last, and holds her hands out to the sides. “Let the two-hundredth Skyloft Academy Wing Ceremony begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Roxy. Nobody likes her. It's almost like alchoholism is considered a bad thing by most people!  
> Meanwhile Karkat is just trying to scrape by, and is very unhappy about it. I was originally going to have the ceremony in this chapter, but Karkat just wouldn't have any of it. He's surrounded by one oblivious drunk and two carefree assholes, and he's the bitter asshole who just doesn't have the talent that they do. His one goal is to not make a fool of himself today. So he blew up at Roxy, and suddenly I didn't have enough time for all the crazy aerial acrobatics John's going to be showing off. Way to go Karkat, geez.


	4. Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John, Sollux, Dave, Karkat, and Roxy engage in some sicknasty aerial maneuvers.

The instant Headmaster Lalonde brings her arms down John vanishes in a flash of yellow and blue. There’s a moment of shock, as the students turn and blink. Even Rue and Atticus appear taken aback. A gasp sounds out amongst the audience, and Brock can hardly contain the smirk threatening to creep across his face as he begins commentating.

“And he’s off! John Egbert wastes no time getting in the air, and Casey shows off the burst of speed that yellow Loftwings are known for. Meanwhile the students are still just trying to saddle up!”

“It looks like John has taken the initiative in a big way, and now he’ll be ready to go before our wannabe knights can even get off the ground. That’s a big opportunity missed!”

“Hardly, Jade. With a takeoff speed like that, it was never an opportunity to begin with. John’s here to send a message to these kids, and this is where it begins. Typically a knight is most vulnerable when taking off, but John is making a statement here: we won’t show any weakness.”

“And that statement is making an impact, as the first flyer is only just now taking off. Sollux Captor is in the air, and moving in on John as we speak. Dave and Roxy aren’t far behind, but Karkat is having some difficulties with his Loftwing. Grey Loftwings are notoriously difficult to handle, so it will be a struggle for Karkat to keep his bird on track.”

“You’re telling me.” Karkat hisses to himself as he attempts to coax his Loftwing into the air. “Come on Thresh, you stubborn piece of shit, this is what we’ve been training for! You stupid fucker, do you want to have gone through all this trouble for nothing?”

“Meanwhile Sollux and John are darting around each other at breakneck speeds! John’s loftwing may be ridiculously fast and maneuverable, but Sollux and his bird are proving more than up to the task. Could this ceremony be over already Brock?”

“Not likely. It’s true that Sollux’s bird Biclops is easily able to keep up with Casey, both being the faster yellow breed. The issue is the rider. Sollux gets frustrated easily, and John is capable enough to see through his straightforward attempts. In a head to head contest, it’s an easy win for John.”

“Shut up, shut up, you think I don’t know that?” Sollux mutters angrily as he and his loftwing dart on John’s tail. Suddenly he sees a flash of red and pulls away in a hurry, as Dave flies in from below. “And the showoff arrives to the fucking party. Terrific.”

“And here’s my slacker bro taking his shot at victory! Dave is attempting to cut John off while Sollux occupies from behind, but John sees him coming! How will Dave fare without the element of surprise?”

“Bitch please, Striders are all about the element of surprise.” Dave says coolly. “Let’s go Geromy!” He encourages his Loftwing into a steep climb, rocketing up past John and leaping from Geromy’s back to Casey’s. 

John looks surprised, but bucks Dave free by coaxing his Loftwing into a swift spin. Dave, having no handholds, falls headfirst from Casey’s back. He crosses his arms casually. “Well motherfuck, I’ve clearly learned a valuable lesson about buckling up. Consider me educated. Nah just kidding, didn’t learn shit.” 

Dave lets out a sharp whistle and grabs ahold of Geromy as the bird flies in to catch him. He climbs back up to the others and let’s out a yell. “FYI scrubs, the totem is strapped to his leg! Prepare to get intimate!”

“There’s a technique that works most reliably with red loftwings, shown poorly by my little bro. Red loftwings are very skilled at vertical movement, climbing and diving far faster than other birds. Unfortunately, while Dave could have ended the match right there, he failed to determine where his target was located.”

“Remember everyone, catching the target isn’t enough! You have to retrieve the Goddess’ totem. It’s required to present to the ceremony’s Representative of the Goddess for the final ritual. John’s going to need to be on guard now that everyone knows where the totem is!”

“Meanwhile, Karkat is finally getting off the ground. It would seem that Thresh is feeling even more stubborn than usual, which is saying something. And Karkat is taking it with all the grace and dignity of the most noble of knights!” There’s a brief moment of silence as Brock and Jade stop to take in the stream of curses Karkat is spewing from across the stage. “Oh wait, I’m sorry, he’s actually flipping out.”

“Shut up Karkat, there’s children present!”

“Meanwhile, John is taking on the other three riders all at once, and not breaking the slightest sweat, because nobody here seems to be trying at all.”

John is actually trying very hard, but he’s doing very well at not looking like it. In truth, he’s having too much fun to really show exertion. It’s been ages since he flew against his classmates, and he intends to make it last.

“Sollux is once again hot on John’s tail, but this time the others are joining in on the chase. Keeping up with Casey is by no means easy, but Sollux has the bird for the job, and is showing off the kind of skill you’d expect from the son of the academy’s flight instructor. Meanwhile Dave is once again using his fast climbing Loftwing to make a swift attack from above. Roxy has abandoned her tactic of watching and is now moving in as well. And Karkat is now approaching as well! We have a four pronged attack here!”

John grins, signals Casey to brake, and suddenly makes a big jump in altitude. Sollux curses as he shoots underneath, and crashes into Dave. The two struggle in the air as they try to stay off the ground, and John focuses on the other flyers. A swift roll to the right throws Roxy off, and she hovers trying to figure out what he’ll do next. Karkat doggedly closes in as John gains some distance from her.

“Here comes Karkat with a full frontal attack! His loftwing Thresh is not suited for intense maneuvering, so he’s probably planning to outlast John!”

“Smart thinking. Grey Loftwings can fly longer than any others, and with this much action Karkat’s chances get better by the minute. That said, with Karkat’s impatience I wouldn’t put it past him to charge in like everyone else.”

“I HATE YOU ALL!” Karkat screams as he flies after John, who keeps a casual distance. Dave and Sollux fly past him angrily and charge as well, and Roxy glides in silently from above.

John smirks, using another burst of speed to dart up, coaxing his bird forward as he jumps backwards, pulling his hood to obscure his black hair. Dressed in bright blue, he manages to disappear into the sky, as Casey darts away unburdened, faster than ever.

“There’s a trick that John invented himself, which he proudly refers to as the windy thing. Knights get different tunics depending on their graduating year, but John’s sky blue fabric means he can incorporate it in his own techniques. It’s something riders have never even considered before John realized his outfit was good for more than just looking awesome.”

“And Casey makes the catch, an easy maneuver for the two of them. It looks like John’s disappearing trick has thrown off all four of his pursuers! But that’s a double edged sword he just used!”

“That’s right Brock, the windy thing is an awesome stealth trick, but it places him at a disadvantage in elevation. He’s about to have four loftwings diving him at full speed!”

“Here we go Casey, they won’t get a better chance than this!” John cries out a warning as he sees his friends charge in. They’ll be on him in seconds, so he feels safe enough to divert his attention to the crowd, if only for a moment.

They’re ecstatic. Compared to the lukewarm reception he got when he first made his appearance, there isn’t a person in Skyloft not standing up and just screaming in excitement. Even Tavros is on his feet, and Rose is standing ready by Jaspers, waiting for her cue to fly away.

“I think they like us.” John murmurs in excitement. “Let’s finish this off with a bang.”

Dave and Sollux intend to do just that, diving down so fast that they’re little more than blurs in the air. John looks back eagerly, and grins as he takes note of their positions. They’re both moving at top speeds, but Sollux is still going to arrive first.

John acts fast; spinning to the side as Sollux blares past so fast you’d blink and miss it. Then, as he straightens out he veers back just in time to see the red blur that is Geromy fly by on his right. John turns around calmly just as Dave clumsily lands on Casey once more, even as the bird staggers in the air.

“Not happening Dave, sorry!” John leans back casually as Dave scrabbles for the statue, and draws his leg back.

Dave seems to freeze up as he realizes what’s about to happen. “Not cool John, I thought we were besties.”

“Which is why I’ll feel really bad about it when this is over.” John replies, completely without remorse and looking like he’s enjoying himself entirely too much. “Be careful on your way down!” John’s foot pushes firmly against Dave’s chest, and sends him tumbling into the lake.

“Ooh, that is beautiful! John has just literally kicked my bro out of the competition! That still leaves three riders hot on his tail though! John better face forward before the others take him down!”

“Oh right, shoot!” John looks up to see Karkat diving in far more gradually, at this point keeping pace directly above him. He hurriedly turns back around in his saddle, just in time to see Sollux fly up on his right and cut directly across his path.

John gasps in shock as Casey comes to a startled stop, flapping in place as Sollux turns back around to finish the job. Before either of them can reorient them though, Karkat makes his move.

“Fuck you Egbert!” Karkat hits John like a ton of bricks, causing Casey to fall right below Sollux’s next charge with an inelegant squawk. “I’ve worked too fucking hard to just lose like this!” John flails as Sollux circles irritably, and Karkat… Karkat realizes that he has abandoned Thresh without a gameplan, or the coordination necessary to ride on this loftwing for more than a few seconds.

Inevitably, Karkat slips off the side with a scream of frustration, and ends up dangling from John’s leg, pulling Casey into an impromptu dive roll. John barely holds on, but Karkat somehow ends up flicked aside. The only thing saving him from crashing into the audience is Atticus Egbert, who manages to catch him with a flying leap.

Karkat takes it well.

“That may be the loudest I’ve ever heard that kid swear.”

“THERE’S STILL CHILDREN WATCHING YOU MORON!”

“Meanwhile, Thresh seems to be either clueless or just doesn’t care about the rules, because he’s still tailing John even though his rider is out of the game. And that means one rider in particular is closing in out of a very large, grey, blind spot.”

“What?” John looks up in shock as he regains control, and sees what Brock is referring to. In the air, just over Thresh’s spread wings, he sees a single purple feather. “Oh geez, I forgot about Roxy.”

“Rude!” Frigglish appears beside John in an instant, and Roxy dives over with a predatory grin. “You’re going to pay for that one, buddy!”

“Also still here.” Sollux’s bird intercepts in an instant, grasping Roxy out of the air and dumping her back on her loftwing before she knows what hit her. Sollux grins as he loops back. “And I think I’ve let you assholes get way too close too many times already.”

“Oh you’re asking for it now!” Roxy cries out indignantly as she flies back, cutting between Sollux and John before either can charge away. John looks visibly worried at this point, and his Loftwing prepares to let loose with another burst of speed.

Roxy chooses that moment to fly upside down, and grab John by the hood. John’s triumphant grin fades as he realizes just what happened. He looks down. And realizes that he hasn’t strapped himself back in after turning to kick Dave.

“Oh crud.” John moves to signal his loftwing the instant after it accelerates out from under him. “Oh crap! Ahh, Roxy, you suck!”

“Sucking is the exact opposite of what I’m doing right, now, thank you very much!” Roxy cries victoriously.

“Get a room!” Sollux yells as he flies full tilt at the upside down duo. “Give me the statue and then get a damn room!”

“Still not giving up!” John yells with determination, as he draws his feet up.

It’s at this point that Roxy realizes that she has no way to get the relic while she’s dangling John by his hood. She looks ahead and realizes that Casey is turning back to come to her riders rescue. “Oh come on, this should totally count, right? Can we call it here?” She mutters nervously, watching helplessly as Sollux reaches her captive.

John times things perfectly, meeting Sollux by planting his feet on his shoulders, and hauling him out of his saddle. Unlike Dave or Karkat however, Sollux is prepared to get kicked, and reaches out to grasp the Goddess Totem even as Biclops leaves him behind. John’s eyes widen as the statue comes away from his hip.

Then Sollux’s eyes widen as the statue slips out of his grasp. And Roxy dives out of her saddle after the both of them.

At this point John accepts that he’s lost, and decides to do it with as much dignity as possible. While Roxy and Sollux scrabble to grab the totem out of the air, he lets Casey swoop in and pull him away by the wrist.

So while Roxy and Sollux crash to the earth in an explosion of dust, John gracefully falls to his feet back on the stage. Then, in a final moment of pure beauty, the five Loftwings that took part in the competition land in perfect formation behind him. The crowd seems torn between watching John’s flawless landing, and waiting for the dust to clear.

Then they hear a whooping cheer, and John starts grinning in spite of himself. A sudden gust of wind reveals the results, and sure enough, Roxy is holding the Goddess Trophy above her head in triumph as she sits on her knees in the dirt. Beside her, lying flat on his back is a very dazed Sollux Captor.

“It looks like Roxy wins!” Jade cries out in excitement as the crowd bursts into a roaring applause. “What a spectacular finish!”

“Haven’t seen a ceremony that close in years!” Brock sounds uncharacteristically enthused. “There were some deliriously crazy moves from all of our flyers, but in the end it looks like Roxy’s decision to play the long game paid off, allowing her to win with some incredible upside-down flying.”

Roxy’s grin turns into a grimace at the thought. Flying upside down with a hangover was a pretty terrible idea, honestly. It was the only way to approach John without him throwing a kick, but…

Yeah, the more she let’s herself think about it the more her stomach is telling her it was a bad move. Roxy looks around in a panic, scrambles to the edge of the island, and starts vomiting in front of every man woman and child in The Sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the first half of this chapter back in like, May or something, but I'll do my best to summarize worldbuilding points I wanted to emphasize.
> 
> Well, honestly, the biggest thing here is addressing the way loftwings are treated in Skyward Sword. They were a damn cool idea, that felt remarkably lacking in details. None of the loftwings have names. None of the loftwings have any remarkable traits except for Link's Red loftwing which is simple "rare". Neither of these things are acceptable. The Sky in Skyward sword really only has one thing that makes it unique compared to every other zelda world: the Loftwings. The game does not properly reflect this.
> 
> I should also mention that most of this flight sequence exists due to the time I spent watching the cartoon Storm Hawks back in junior high. Does anyone else remember that show? It was pretty decent.


	5. Tempest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose's impatience with her sister puts her in mortal danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, in my defense, this is still much faster than the chapter before it.

“Rose?”

“Rose.”

“Roooosey?”

Rose is having none of her sister’s shit. She can’t help but think this may be the most frustrated she’s ever been with her sister in her life. For all her earlier griping, she’d rather perform this ceremony with anyone else at this point. Even Karkat. Hell, even Dave, and Rose knows for a fact Dave would just ruin the ceremony for kicks.

At this moment in time Rose is starting to regret most of the company she’s kept all her life.

Unfortunately for her though, the person currently responsible for most of her ire is one who she would never be able to rid herself of even by associating herself in different social circles.

Not that she’d ever really want to be apart from her sister. But damned if there aren’t moments…

Such as now, when she sits in the palms of the Goddess, acting as though she didn’t just spend several minutes in a hangover fueled vomiting spree in front of every single person in The Sky.

Worse may be the fact that she might not even care.

Thankfully, the final part of the ceremony is held in private, as per tradition, so nobody can see exactly how pissed she is except for Roxy.

“Rose, are we gonna do this thing or not?” Roxy stares up obliviously, as Rose turns her gaze aside. “You getting stage fright?”

“Nonsense.” Rose looks back with a cold smile. “I simply thought we should give you a few moments to regain your senses. After all, this flying around is clearly not doing wonders for your head.”

“Tell me about it.” Roxy rolls her eyes, before blinking in realization and looking back up. “Oh, you’re still pissed at me about running off?”

Rose has already tried to talk some sense into her sister today, and is not in the mood for another attempt. “You’re imagining things. The statue, please.” She holds out a hand impatiently, wanting nothing more that to finish what she came here for.

Roxy’s trepidation is immediately overshadowed by excitement as she grabs the statue. “Hells yes!” She crows, as she slaps the statue into Rose’s hand eagerly. “Been looking forward to this! Look at us being all official and shit!”

Rose sighs, her anger trickling away in spite of herself. “I’m glad this means so much to you.” She says wearily.

“Why wouldn’t it? I wanted to win this so friggin badly!” Roxy grins broadly.

“You have a funny way of showing it…” Rose mutters to herself, as she places the statue in a special alcove made for such occasions, and draws her harp.

Unlike the regal calm she played the Ballad of the Goddess with before, Rose can’t help but notice her fingers slowing across the strings this time, causing the song to sound almost mournful. Her anger may be fading, but in its place is an overwhelming disappointment. Roxy embarrassed herself, her teachers, and her friends with that display; on the one day she should have known such behavior to be intolerable. And if she couldn’t get her shit together today…

As Rose concludes the song she wonders whether her sister will ever improve. The carefree smile on Roxy’s face when Rose offers a hand seems to imply the answer is an overwhelming no. Still, Roxy takes a knee like she is supposed to, so Rose continues regardless.

“Great Goddess, guiding light and protector of our people, grant us your blessing and mercy as I act in your stead during this ceremony.” Rose intones firmly, willing her voice to remain steady. To her surprise as she finishes the line she suddenly feels as though a weight is lifting from her shoulders.

“Valiant youth who grasped victory at the celebration of the bird folk, in accordance with the old ways, I now bestow the blessings of the goddess upon you.” The weight being lifted becomes a literal one as Rose removes the sailcloth she worked on for the ceremony from her shoulders, and passes it to her sister. “The blessings of the goddess drift down from the heavens aloft a sail, which I now pass on to you.”

Roxy wastes no time in unfurling the cloth and admiring it, and Rose finds herself suddenly feeling embarrassed for the work. “It’s far from my best, I’m sure you know I prefer knitting to sewing any day.” She stares at the wings and grimaces at the design, lopsided despite her best efforts.

“I will treasure this forever.” Roxy replies in reassurance, making a big show of hugging the sail to her chest. Rose smiles in response, though a rather bitter part of her wonders idly if her vision is clear enough to tell that the pattern on the cloth is crooked. She frowns to herself as she gestures Roxy towards the Goddess’ fingertips, wondering just what it is exactly that’s making her so bitter.

Likely the damage Roxy’s display did to John’s standing, Rose decides as she addresses her sister. “I’m glad to hear you’ll treasure it, because you’ll have to test it out now to finish the ceremony.” 

Yes, she thinks bitterly. This event probably meant more to John than anyone, with his position being held under scrutiny by all of Skyloft. He performed beautifully, better than he ever had before, in fact. The same could be said for his opponents as well, and Rose truly believed that John shouldn’t need to be ashamed in the slightest after the show he put on. But when the one to claim victory from him was acting like a drunken mess, the good will of the crowd seemed to vanish, whether out of disgust or embarrassment, or any of a myriad of other appropriately negative emotions.

Roxy may very well have torn John down in what should have been his finest moment, and whether intentional or not, Rose is not happy.

This is why Roxy’s protests go unheard as Rose tips her out of the goddess’s hand to conclude the ceremony without any delay. And it’s also why when Roxy manages to land in one piece and looks back up grumpily, Rose is already flying away.

 

“You know what the worst part of all this is?” Karkat grumbles irritably as he watches the crowds moving back towards the festival area. He’s standing grumpily on the wall around the academy, with Sollux sitting beside him and Dave leaning as casually as possible below. “I can’t even enjoy being right about Roxy, because her bullshit is making John miserable.”

“True.” Dave replies calmly. “All anybody was talking about was how John lost to a drunk. They seem to think he threw the match so he could tap dat ass. Which is a bunch of horseshit because we all know Egdork is better than that.” A trace of anger leaks into his voice despite his stony face.

“Let the idiots think what they want to think.” Sollux says casually. “It’s not like they can do a thing about it anyways. He’s still the best flyer in Skyloft, and he’s already passed his exams. We were the ones getting tested back there, he was just there to show off.”

“It’s the principle of the thing!” Karkat snaps back irritably. “Embarrassing us is one thing, everyone knows we’re fuck ups already, but John and Rose are way better and looking like assholes because Roxy can’t keep herself away from the fucking bottle!”

“I’m sure she’ll probably clue in… eventually.” Everyone looks to the side to see Tavros hopping up with his crutches. “She can’t keep, getting her way… not forever. And when… things do, go bad, she’ll, most likely, smarten up.”

“With how she’s kept this streak going she’ll probably just call it a fluke.” Sollux says with a chuckle. He pauses as he looks back towards the Goddess’ shrine. “See, like right now. Rose just made a run for it, and I doubt Roxy even knows why.”

“She’s not that dense.” Dave replies irritably, straightening up as he watches Rose and Jaspers. “She knows what her problem is, she just doesn’t want to deal with it. I don’t know what her issue is, but yeah, I’m honestly getting pretty fed up too.” He sighs and falls back against the wall with a grunt. “Tav has the right of it though. Until things stop going well for her she’s not going to change a damn thing.”

Tavros gives a half-hearted smile, not used to being acknowledged by Dave for something other than quote: “friendship power”, before glancing up again. “Well, Roxy probably knows… something is up. She’s…” He freezes suddenly, turning towards the east.

“Uhh, TR?” Sollux sits up and looks down in bemusement. “I know you’re a think twice talk once kind of guy, but you usually finish your sentences eventually.”

“Something’s wrong.” Tavros says quietly. “The wind, can’t you feel it?”

“I can’t feel shit, what are you on about?” Karkat snaps back, before a sudden commotion in the distance catches his eye. “Uhh, fuck. Guys, I think Tavros is right.”

“What’s happening dude?” Dave asks sharply. “You got the high ground Karkat, talk to me.”

“Whatever the fuck Tavros is feeling, it looks like John can sense it too.” Karkat says grimly, jumping down from the wall. “The knights are going crazy down there.”

“Let’s go see what’s up then.” Dave pushes off from the wall and calls his bird, and the others follow suit.

As the group flies in over the market the people are locking everything down. Knights are directing people towards the various bunkers around town, and there’s a small mob tearing down Skyloft’s covered marketplace with ruthless efficiency. 

“It uhh, it looks like they’re preparing, for a storm!” Tavros calls out over the commotion.

“I can see that TR.” Sollux replies with a roll of his eyes. “Looks like you were right about that weird feeling you had though. The knights must be able to feel it better than us. More experienced or something.”

As if on cue, John appears beside them. “Guys, come on! I know you don’t like to play by the rules, but flight restrictions should be an exception!”

“Don’t blame us dude, we just got here!” Dave raises his arms in mock surrender. “What flight restriction?”

“There’s a storm coming. A big one, too.” John looks at them all in confusion. “Can’t you feel it?”

“Tavros can.” Karkat shrugs his shoulders, looking back as Tavros and his loftwing Tinkerbill land below. “The rest of us don’t feel a fucking thing.”

John grimaces. “So you don’t feel that coming?” He tightens his grip on his bird.

Sollux takes note and lowers himself in his saddle, even as Karkat asks cluelessly: “Feel what?”

The wind hits them like a wall, sending Sollux and John staggering, and knocking Dave out of the air. Karkat barely manages to hang on, even as his sturdier loftwing gamely keeps its flight steady. Below, items are sent flying from those stalls not yet closed up, and the group dismantling the bazaar’s tent is nearly dragged off their feet.

“IT’S PICKING UP FAST! GET EVERYONE INSIDE NOW!” John’s father can be heard yelling over the roar of the wind. “LEAVE THE TENT, WE’LL NEVER CONTAIN IT NOW! ALL GREY RIDERS, FOCUS ON ESCORTING THOSE STILL ON THEIR BIRDS. SEND OUT THE WORD, ALL KNIGHTS NEED TO FALL IN IMMEDIATELY.”

The wind howls ever louder as Karkat screams in a panic. “FUUUUUCK. HOW DID THIS COME UP SO FAST?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” John bellows back. “IT ALMOST SEEMS UNNATURAL, BUT IT’S OKAY. THERE SHOULDN’T BE ANYBODY OUT THERE. NOBODY’S LEFT THE FESTIVAL.”

“Oh, fuck.” Sollux gasps as he struggles to remain in the air. “OH FUCK. ROSE IS OUT THERE, DUDE! WE SAW HER FLY AWAY LIKE TEN MINUTES AGO.”

John’s face twists between worry and grim determination in an instant, before he starts barking orders. “The other knights are too busy to ride out for one stray rider. Sollux, get back to the ground, Biclops can’t keep this up. Karkat, strap in properly. You’re with me! We need to get her before she’s knocked out of the air!”

Sollux grimaces and lowers his bird to the ground, where Dave and Tavros are looking on in worry. Karkat adjusts his leg straps and urges Thresh forward, the resilient loftwing powering through the storm with little difficulty. John urges his bird into a gradual climb, with the intention of cutting through the wind with a dive.

With the powerful winds acting as dangerous resistance, it takes the two of them several minutes to get away from the island, but once they do, the distinct color of two loftwings can be seen against the blue sky.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS ROXY DOING OUT THERE?” John cries out in horror. “WE CAN’T RESCUE TWO RIDERS IF THINGS GO POORLY!”

“I GUESS SHE REALIZED SHE’S THE REASON ROSE FLEW OFF IN THE FIRST PLACE.” Karkat replies grimly. “WE’LL JUST HAVE TO HOPE THINGS DON’T GO COMPLETELY FUCKING TERRIBLY.”

The sudden darkening of the sky causes that statement to ring hollow, as Karkat curses to himself. “Why do I open my big fucking mouth?”

“At this rate we’ll have to carry on to the Lumpy Pumpkin!” John muses, as Skyloft grows increasingly distant behind them. “We won’t last long if this keeps up.”

After a few moments though, the wind seems to stop. Even as the sky grows darker around them, Karkat and John fly on unhindered. The two stare at each other in confusion for a few moments, until Karkat voices the same question that is on John’s mind as well. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Rose, wait up!” The two face forward again as Roxy’s voice drifts through the air. “You can’t just fly away from me forever! Besides, the sky is getting all weird, I think we should head back!”

“Running from your problems has proven perfectly sufficient for you!” Rose replies bitterly. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t try it!”

John and Karkat look at each other in horror for a moment before Karkat’s face falls. “I really want to go back now.” He says sadly. “I’d rather go back into the storm than deal with this.”

“Karkat, they’re in danger!” John scolds, though his face looks equally crestfallen. “We have to get…” He trails off as his attention drifts back to the two girls in front of them. “Karkat, move. NOW!” His bird races ahead with a screech, as Karkat looks ahead and sees a strange movement in the air.

It’s as though the darkness surrounding them is taking on a physical form, twisting with the breeze into a vortex of shadows, and that vortex is rocketing up from the wall of clouds below. There are only a few short moments before it will be upon them.

But when the tornado rises higher it suddenly draws tighter, a tendril of black wind that seems to coil up, before snapping out like a tentacle to grab Rose and rip her away from her bird in an instant. Karkat tries to fly forward, but finds that Thresh is simply too slow to reach in time. Even John doesn’t have a chance of reaching them.

Roxy however, is far closer, and cries out in determination as she races into the storm to grab Rose. She reaches out, almost managing to grab ahold of her sister, before the storm seems to twitch, sending her back in a flurry of feathers.

“Rosie!”

“Get out of there, Rose!”

“Get back you fuckers, that thing is picking up in power!” Karkat yells a warning even as he doggedly closes in. He winces as the wind sends searing pain racing across his cheek, and he realizes that there are small flecks of stone being carried by the wind. “PULL OUT NOW, FUCKING RUN!”

Roxy looks up just in time to see one of the many floating stones throughout The Sky flying straight for her, but doesn’t get a chance to react. The rock crashes bodily into her and Frigglish, sending both plummeting without so much as a scream.

John, on the other hand, bellows like a wounded animal, pulling away from the tornado to dive after the two of them, even as Karkat pushes on. Thresh’s ability to weather the storm allows him enough control to avoid the rocks, but he can already tell he’ll never make it. He can only watch in despair as Rose vanishes into the solid floor of clouds below.

“Karkat!” John cries from behind, startling Karkat back into action. “Karkat, I can’t hold them, please!”

“Fuck, right! Sorry!” Karkat makes a sharp turn around and flies in to help Casey, who is struggling to fly while holding Frigglish up in her talons. With Thresh and Casey working together, the two are able to hold the unconscious bird aloft and start frantically flying towards the Lumpy Pumpkin. Neither bird has the strength to return to Skyloft.

“John… did you see?” Karkat turns to his friend quietly.

John nods firmly, Roxy cradled in his arms as tears stream down his face. “I saw.” He whispers. “Rose fell below. She’s on the surface.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you're wondering what took me so long to put this up, I just moved into a new place. So I've been kinda busy making sure the new place is up to par.
> 
> Consider this a turning point for the relationship between Rose and Roxy. Skyward Sword makes a point of ensuring we know that Link has some growing to do early on, but overall there isn't much to indicate that since his actions are dependent on the player.
> 
> Roxy will not have that luxury. She is not unskilled, but the amount of growing she has to do is clear. That's why while the ceremony in the game is a joyous occasion, the ceremony in this story is more like a cause for despair.
> 
> Most of the action in this scene goes to Karkat and John, because in the game Link just gets knocked out of the air. And... somehow blown all the way back to Skyloft? Yeah fuck that noise, he needs somebody to save his ass.


	6. Downward Spiral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy tries to keep her shit together in the aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally decided to get this done, before my new story just started consuming all my attention. Writer's block hit me hard on this one, sorry.

“Roxy.”

Once again Roxy is surrounded on all sides by an oppressive wall of darkness. But unlike her earlier rude awakening she can remember everything that happened to put her here. The darkening sky, the rock flying straight for her… Rose, dragged away into the clouds with hardly enough time to scream.

A dazzling glow blinds her, and she looks up to see a figure descending towards her, clothing billowing out like wings. All further details are obscured though, as the light shining from behind the figure casts a dark silhouette.

“Roxy, we need to meet. Once you wake up come find me. Don’t keep me waiting, or the world may be in big trouble!”

The figure descends closer, and seems to contort, until Rose is there instead. Roxy gasps, and reaches out to take her hand, but finds herself unable to reach. Rose could easily close the distance if she just reached out as well…

But she doesn’t. Instead her expression twists into something sorrowful, and she turns away. Roxy calls and stretches her arms until her shoulders burn, but Rose remains unperturbed, even as the two rotate in the air and Rose starts to fall further away below. 

Roxy can only watch helplessly as her sister’s rapidly diminishing back vanishes into the darkness below. And as she finally disappears from view, the beast from her previous dream emerges again. Black fur, a single white eye, and jaws lined with razor sharp teeth fill Roxy’s eyes for a single terrifying moment.

Then she wakes up.

When Karkat walks into the back room of the Lumpy Pumpkin to check on Roxy she’s pilfering Jake English’s cabinets to find the biggest bottle of anything alcoholic that she can find. Things immediately go from hectic to completely insane.

“Roxy, I know you have a head injury but that’s FUCKING IDIOTIC EVEN FOR YOU.” Karkat screeches in rage, grappling Roxy by the armpits and hauling her away.

“Fuck off Karkat! I need this!” Roxy spits back angrily, thrashing around in an attempt to shake Karkat off. Karkat snarls and tightens his grip, and Roxy stops swinging, attempting instead to claw her way forward to the wine bottle that’s caught her eye.

“You need to lie down and shut the fuck up, drinking isn’t going to solve anything!” Karkat snaps and throws himself backwards, dragging Roxy down with him.

John arrives to find Roxy thrashing around on her back, with a very red-faced Karkat lying beneath her. “Uhh… what the fuck guys?”

“THIS DUMBASS WANTS TO DRINK AWAY THE FACT THAT HER DRINKING JUST GOT HER SISTER FUCKED UP.” Karkat screams so loudly it can barely be considered coherent. “I HAVE FUCKING HAD IT EGBERT. I’M FUCKING DONE! SHE IS NOW OFFICIALLY YOUR PROBLEM.” He heaves Roxy aside with a frustrated yell, scrambles to his feet, and storms out of the room in a huff.

“Get some sleep Karkat, we’re flying back to Skyloft early in the morning to help with rebuilding.” John calls out the door, receiving only a screech in response.

“You’re building something?” Roxy looks up in confusion.

“That storm didn’t just hit us, Roxy.” John looks back grimly. “It scattered debris all over The Sky, and seems to have churned up some sort of giant storm cloud west of Skyloft. The town is a mess, and many of the islands past Skyloft are unreachable.”

“What about Rose?” Roxy looks expectantly towards John, who only sighs in response.

“No sign of her.” John says sadly, directing his gaze towards the window. “Jaspers has been found… he didn’t make it. The wind carried him all the way to the lake, but they think he was dead before he even hit the water.” He looks back to Roxy with a hollow expression. “Without Jaspers I don’t think Rose has much of a chance.”

“John…” Roxy shakes her head in disbelief. “You can’t just give up on her. Not you.”

“I don’t like it either Roxy.” John replies with fists clenched at his sides. “But navigating through the clouds is impossible, and with how far she fell Rose hardly stands a chance of surviving when she lands.”

“How could you?” Roxy hisses, turning aside. “You’re the best damn flyer in Skyloft and you won’t even go down there to find your best friend? You won’t even try?”

“There are other people who need me up here.” John replies with a frown. “As the best flyer in Skyloft, believe me when I say that navigating those clouds is a suicide mission. Nothing short of a miracle is going to get you through that mess unscathed.”

“Get out of here.” Roxy spits angrily. “I can’t even look at you right now John.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with the alcohol.” John’s voice tints with emotion for the first time in the conversation as he speaks. “Karkat may be acting insensitive right now, but he’s right about one thing. If you hadn’t been drinking Rose wouldn’t have gone out there.”

Roxy flinches as though struck and whirls back on John, only to find him gazing coldly at her. “I’ve been going easy on you for years, because you’re my friend and I think people should make their own mistakes. But I can’t keep doing that Roxy. Not after yesterday. You won the ceremony. You’re a goddamn knight now.”

John gestures to a chair beside the door, where a deep blue uniform is sitting. “Dirk dropped that off an hour ago, but he was too busy to wait for you to wake up. I don’t think you’re expected to start work immediately, not after what just happened. I’m sure as heck not going to make you either, because I can hardly stand the idea of going back to work already myself. But Skyloft needs us right now. The island is in seriously rough shape.”

Roxy feels guilt creeping in as John’s face softens again into something closer to the same old friend she’s come to rely on. “Please, Roxy. If there was ever a time to become somebody that Skyloft could rely on, this is it. You know Rose would agree with me if she were here.”

He’s not wrong. He’s being practical, and Roxy knows it. She also knows from the pain in his eyes that he hates it as much as Roxy does. So she takes the uniform, for him, and for Rose, and changes into it in the Lumpy Pumpkin’s bathroom.

Her first thought is that the color clashes pretty badly with her eyes, and it’s pretty much a downward spiral from there. She doesn’t deserve to be a knight, and she knows it. All of Rose’s thinly veiled frustration, all of Karkat’s bitter outrage, Roxy was sure she could dismiss it if she just won yesterday.

She won the ceremony, but Rose still left her behind, and Karkat still thinks she’s useless, and now she’s disappointed John as well. Roxy feels lower than ever, and wearing this knight’s uniform is only making her feel worse. Roxy groans in frustration, before her gaze turns to the window.

It only takes her a moment to change again and slip out the window, and she’s not surprised to see Frigglish waiting for her outside. Roxy’s loftwing is always there when she needs him, and she loves him for it. It makes for an easy getaway.

By the time John thinks to check on Roxy she’s long gone, and out of vain hope he searches the entirety of the Lumpy Pumpkin before he accepts that she’s left. By that time Roxy has already reached Skyloft.

The city lies in shambles in the aftermath of the storm. While normally such storms would have little impact on the town, the suddenness of this one gave the people of Skyloft little time to prepare. And the Wing Ceremony festivities meant that the people were in the most vulnerable state possible.

People are still digging through the wreckage in the dark, though most are seemingly asleep. Houses in the sky are built underground, but the same rocks that knocked her and Frigglish senseless have caved in more than a few roofs. Most people are probably recovering in the academy.

Cleanup has barely started, that much is clear. What remains of the merchant’s tent is now tangled around the lighthouse so badly it will likely need to be cut apart to remove, and the stalls set up by people throughout The Sky have been reduced to splinters. Across the lake the announcer tower has fallen through the bleachers, scattering wood and cloth across the entirety of the lake.

Seeing this Roxy remembers what John told her before, and her eyes drift to the shore. Even in the dark the bright pink feathers of Jaspers are immediately visible. None of the traditional rites have been taken yet, and Roxy can only imagine that in the face of all the damage done to the town pulling Jaspers out of the lake was all they could afford to do.

Roxy doesn’t let herself cry. Crying would mean she’d given up on her sister, and Roxy is far from giving up. That said, now that she’s seen the damage done in her absence first hand, she’s not sure what she should do. She isn’t even sure why she came here at all. To find somewhere to run to, probably, but Roxy isn’t willing to let herself admit to that any more than she’s willing to let herself give up on Rose.

It’s likely that if not for the flicker of motion she sees out of the corner of her eye Roxy would remain in the sky until sunrise. But instead a glimmer of light in front of the Goddess Statue draws her gaze, and she flies closer. She knows it’s probably nothing out of the ordinary, some despairing person going to pray at the feet of the Goddess.

But when Roxy flies over the statue she notices immediately that the courtyard below is empty. The only movement visible is coming from a large cloth wrapped around a tree as it sways in the wind.

“Oh!” Roxy gasps as she recognizes Rose’s sailcloth and drops to the ground to retrieve her prize. She had completely forgotten about it when she noticed Rose getting all pissed off. “Can’t let Rosey’s hard work go to waste.” She mutters aloud, as she folds the cloth and tucks it under her arm. She’s about to take off again, when she remembers the light that lured her down here in the first place and stops to take another look.

“That… was not there before.” Roxy says in shock as she looks at the Goddess Statue and sees a massive opening in the front of its pedestal. 

In her head, Roxy knows she shouldn’t go anywhere near that opening. If she never knew about it before there’s no way she’s supposed to go there. But in spite of that, her instincts seem to pull her in closer. She’s through the opening before she knows it, and practically sprints down the flight of stairs within, until she’s standing in a circular room, lit with torches. In the center of the room, a lone figure sits, shrouded in a cloak so that all that can be seen of her is the thick tangled mass of hair that runs down her back. As far as Roxy can tell there is only one identifiable trait in this person, but that trait proves enough to give her pause.

The person’s entire body, cloak, hair and all, seems to be glowing with blue light.

Roxy stares for a few seconds, before head trumps heart and she starts to back towards the staircase. She hasn’t taken two steps before the figure rises.

“You’re here.” A feminine voice calls out as the figure turns slowly, raising her arms within the cloak. Roxy pauses at the voice, recognizing it from somewhere.

The cloak seems to billow as the figure holds their arms aloft, and Roxy’s mind suddenly makes the connection. “You’re the one in my dream!”

“I called to you, yes.” The figure faces Roxy fully, and raises her head. Her face is, rather unexpectedly, beautiful, framed by her hair, which has been pulled back by a tiara molded in the shape of a pair of wings. Her eyes glitter with life, and her grin is sharp, and almost predatory. The same blue glow that surrounds her cloak and hair also envelops her face.

“You lost somebody today, didn’t you?” The person says casually. “Your sister?”

Roxy stares suspiciously as she draws nearer. “You know about that?”

“More than you, I’m sure.” The reply comes confidently. “I’ve been here for centuries waiting for it.”

Roxy’s stare turns into a glare as she steps forward angrily. “Did you have something to do with what happened to Rose?”

“Don’t be stupid.” The figure responds impatiently. “I’m here to stop it.”

“What?” Roxy stares in confusion. “How are you supposed to stop something if it’s already happened?”

“Simple.” The girl rises further, until she’s floating off the ground. “I’m going to stop it because nothing has actually happened yet. What happened to your sister, to Skyloft, to you? That was just the beginning. It’s what happens next that’s important.”

“And… what happens next?”

“What do you think?” The girl’s grin broadens. “We have to go find her!”

Roxy stares blankly. “Go find her. On the surface. Okay, we need to stop this right now. I’d love to do that, believe me, but I have it on painfully good authority that that’s not even slightly possible. And I’d have to be crazy to let some glowing cave chick tell me what to do. Nothing about this makes sense! What’s happening to my sister? Why should I trust you? Who even are you?”

“Oh.” The girl pauses in contemplation. “Right, I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? That’s my bad.”

The girl sweeps her cloak back, revealing a muscular figure in a tight shirt and flowing skirts. Her feet touch the ground as she pulls herself into an elegant curtsy. “Sorry, I’m not a big fan of formalities. My name is… well you can call me Fi. I am a spirit, placed here by the Goddess for one purpose. My job is to keep watch over Skyloft, and should danger ever face this place, I have been tasked with finding a champion to protect it.”

“Oh…” Roxy says as she tries to process what Fi has told her. “Well, I guess if it comes to champions I know of a few people who fit the bill. There’s John and his Dad, the Mitunas, the Pyropes, and the Striders… well two of them anyways. I’m sure one of them should be able to help you get the job done. As long as you take me with you after I introduce you we should be able to make this work.”

“What?” Fi cocks her head in confusion. “Are you stupid or something? Why would I call you to bring me to a champion? I called you because you are the champion I’m looking for. You, Roxy, are going to be the hero of The Sky!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, in the end this just became one of those chapters where I had to accept I couldn't hit anything close to my standards and just get it done for the sake of moving on. Everything just felt like its own downward spiral as soon as Karkat left the room for me.
> 
> I feel bad for John here though. He wants to believe Rose is alive just as badly as Roxy does, but realistically speaking nobody is surviving that fall. Quite frankly I'm not sure it's explained how Zelda survives it in game. I guess we'll just say the tornado did it?
> 
> Game related notes: there is no good reason whatsoever that you're not allowed to fly at night. The restrictions are frustratingly arbitrary, and I refuse to give them a place in my story. Seriously, that stupid bed hunting thing pissed me right off. Fucking knights all tell you you'll get to fly at night someday, but they're a bunch of filthy liars.
> 
> Other thing to consider: why did nobody go after Zelda in the game when she disappeared? It's not like they were in poor shape or anything, they lost one person and just decided... not to do anything about it. No search parties, no assistance to poor Link. He's on his own because reasons. Seriously, I like a lot about Skyward Sword but the writing for this game is the weakest since Zelda 2. Anyways, that's why I decided to just trash Skyloft in this story. Nobody can save Rose because everybody's busy with the fact that their town just got wiped out. And it's directly connected to the same storm that put Rose in danger in the first place. You see that, it was so easy to work that out! They had a perfect explanation right there and didn't use it!


	7. The Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose awakens in a strange new land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would have had this out much sooner, but life happened again. I lost my vehicle in a collision. Shoutout to the Blood Pride readers who think this sounds familiar.
> 
> Fun story really, a couple of car thieves on the run from the cops smashed my car in a Walmart parking lot. Like, what kind of bullshit luck is that? My vehicle got destroyed in a car chase, and I wasn't even there to see it! Just walked outside and was all: "Why is my car sideways?"
> 
> Anyways, managed to get things mostly sorted out, got a new car AGAIN, lost most of my money buying said car AGAIN. And now that my abysmal luck has once again resurfaced and been dealt with I've finally reached a place mentally where I can finish this damn chapter. More on that below.

Rose spends the first few minutes after waking just marveling at the fact that she is alive after her ordeal. She is far from in perfect condition, aches and pains covering her entire body, but that she is able to so much as feel them is reason enough to feel optimistic, all things considered.

She dares to open her eyes for a brief moment, but even the notably dim light around her is enough to overwhelm her and set her head to pounding. Focusing around the pain, Rose puts her other senses to work instead.

She’s lying on grass and dirt, though the grass is much longer, and the soil far richer than she’s used to. She can hear birdsong, though the deeper, throatier cries of loftwings are absent. The air smells of plant life in abundance, a trait that Rose has always associated with the bamboo forest on the northern edge of the sky.

Rose dares to open her eyes again, and manages to identify a canopy of trees before the light forces her eyes shut again. Not the bamboo forest then, though that’s hardly a surprise.

“I had hoped,” Rose mutters to nobody in particular, “that the sight of the clouds around me was a dream. What a disappointment.”

Rose was on the surface, the lost land of her people. She’d probably feel excited if not for how she got here. Instead she just feels scared and sore. 

The chances of rescue are slim, if not nonexistent. The barrier of clouds between the sky and the surface has always been impenetrable to Loftwings due to the unpredictable winds and the deadly stones still floating within. There is little chance Rose’s friends would follow her. Karkat may have been struggling to reach her last she saw, but even his persistence had limits.

And the others… In the terror of the situation she had failed to see what happened to John, but Roxy was hit.

Rose wonders briefly if Roxy might have fallen down here as well, and that thought is enough to motivate her into action. She ignores the protests of her muscles and forces herself to roll onto her front, pushing herself to her hands and knees. Her bones aren’t even broken, and again Rose finds herself asking how she even survived the fall.

Finally, Rose pushes through the pain and hauls herself to her feet, opening her eyes and stubbornly refusing to let her head affect her.

Rose stands in the middle of a thick cluster of trees, in far greater abundance than she ever thought possible. Her thoughts of the bamboo island in the sky suddenly seem laughable, as the true meaning of the word forest because powerfully apparent, a nebulous and twisting maze of life that already feels overwhelming.

Immediately to her left she notices the harp they gave her to use in the ceremony, lying on the ground without so much as a scratch. Stooping to retrieve it gives her a tremendous jolt of pain in her head, but given her predicament the familiar item is a comfort to great to ignore.

She takes a moment to look herself over, and finds that while her bones remain unbroken, she is not unharmed. The ceremonial white dress she was wearing for her earlier performance is now torn and filthy with dirt, as well as what appears to be blood. She places a hand to her head cautiously, and feels oddly relieved when it comes away bloody. Seeing an injury after her ordeal somehow makes everything feel more… normal, in a way that is almost comforting.

“That explains the headache, at least.” Rose murmurs to herself, looking back into the canopy. She notes the broken branches above her, as well as scraps of white fabric hanging from the trees. “And there lies the rather obvious explanation for the dress.”

A smile creeps across Rose’s face as she takes in her surroundings once more with renewed determination. Certainly, the storm that dragged her to the surface was far from normal, but there was still some form of logic at play here. This new world still had rules it followed, and as long as that could be said then Rose knew she would be able to figure out the rest.

First point to consider: the storm that took her was not of natural means. It moved with purpose, struck her down, and left the others behind. Such a thing could only be the result of some form of magic at play. And that magic, for whatever reason, was made specifically to target Rose.

As to the intent of the spell, that was considerably more mysterious. There are few, if any people in the sky who know about the magical arts. Even Rose’s own mother barely knew a thing about spellcraft. That said though, Rose can only assume that there are easier ways to kill people with magic than by dragging them from the sky. This can only mean that the purpose of this spell lay more in moving Rose than damaging her. Her survival was almost certainly not an accident.

Rose can only assume that she is on the surface because somebody wants her here. And whatever their intentions Rose knows very well that she wants nothing to do with the culprit.

Another look around does not reveal any such culprit though. Was there some form of interference in the spell that brought Rose there, or was the spell unable to bring Rose directly to the caster by it’s nature? Once again Rose’s lack of knowledge regarding magic makes comprehending her situation a daunting task.

Rose frowns tersely as she regards the broken canopy above her once more. Even if she landed here due to interference, anyone watching her descent would no doubt find her easily. And without a way to pinpoint the sun’s location in the sky Rose can’t tell how long she’s been unconscious for.

Whatever brought her here could be upon her any moment. Rose comes to the conclusion that absconding is likely her best chance at continued survival. She glances around briefly, and not seeing any notable landmarks in sight, simply chooses a direction and starts walking.

After almost an hour of walking Rose finds herself suddenly struck with an odd sense of unease. The forest has fallen silent, with not a trace of the sound of insects or birds that greeted her upon her initial awakening. The grey skies seem to be growing darker above her, yet in her gut Rose knows the sun is not setting. The air is thick, in a way that almost makes it difficult to breathe.

The rational thing to do would likely be to turn around and go back the way she came. But Rose feels no such inclination. Perhaps it is due to the chance that her abductor may be back there looking for her, or perhaps it is because this is the first sign of progress she’s seen since getting to her feet. The area is clearly sinister, but sinister is better than empty. “Of course, curiosity has its part to play as well.” Rose admits to herself as she ventures forward.

She pushes aside a thick cluster of branches blocking her view and steps forward into thin air. “Oh fuck.” Rose grumbles as she realizes she’s not well enough to correct her mistake. Through sheer stubbornness she manages to remain silent the duration of her fall, which is thankfully broken by bushes and tall grass below.

“This really is the most miserable fucking day.” Rose grumbles as she staggers back to her feet. “Just… the worst. In every possible manner. Where even am I now?” Rose glances around and finds herself standing on the edge of a spiraling pit in the ground.

The slope leading down is absurdly large, and so perfectly flat that there can be no doubt that it was crafted to be this way. Despite her best efforts though, Rose can hardly begin to guess at what purpose it may serve. She stumbles forward until she is at the edge of the pit, and peers below.

Rose was expecting the pit to stretch down so far that the depths of it would be lost to shadows, but to her surprise the bottom is easily visible. The depth is however, still enough to make a trip down very unpleasant. Rose decides after very little deliberation to simply glean whatever information she can from her position near the top.

Unfortunately for Rose there is very little information to be gained without descending. All that can be seen from the bottom is a strange black obelisk, shaped like a triangle and sitting in the middle of a circle of stone. There don’t appear to be any markings visible on the thing from where she stands, but there is a sort of dark aura emanating from the base.

For a minute or two Rose evaluates the merit in taking a closer look, but exhaustion wins out in the end. No matter what knowledge becomes available through studying the obelisk, it will not be worth the hike back out of the pit. Rose only fell a short ways after all, and is still remarkably close to the top.

She glances around the outer rim of the pit appraisingly, wondering if she can find some place to take shelter and recover from her exhaustion. A few quick glances around reveals no apparent location. For a moment Rose wonders in trepidation whether she’ll have to chance making her way back into the forest after all.

That moment ends abruptly when Rose glances back and sees that a massive stone building has been standing behind her the whole time, not five feet from where she fell. She’s glad nobody is present to see the look on her face.

“I am clearly more exhausted than I thought.” Rose mutters. “To have missed something so obvious is clearly a sign that things are not quite right in my head. I need rest, food, a bath… and company. How long have I been talking to myself?”

Without another moment’s hesitation, she throws open the doors of the old building and marches inside.

The building is cavernous, and no less dilapidated on the inside than it appeared from the outside. Other than a few torches on the walls, only the light streaming in through holes in the roof lights the building. Ivy creeps along the walls and pillars, and grass grows through the floor. Altogether the place is a wreck.

This makes it all the more surprising that it is occupied. A lone figure stands near the back of the room, where a large pair of stone doors sits tightly sealed. If the way they seems to be chipping away at the rock is any indication, the person is very interested in whatever lies in the room beyond.

The booming of doors closing behind Rose causes them to abandon this curiosity in a hurry though, and the person dives towards the center of the room almost faster than Rose can blink. Now that she’s facing Rose’s direction she can see that the person seems to be female, though since they also appear to be inhuman it’s rather difficult to tell.

The girl is fairly short, with a thick unruly mane of hair that runs down her back in a tangled mess. Her skin is a pale shade of grey, clearly noticeable even in the poor lighting, and she has a pair of thick curly horns on her head that loop around her ears and seem almost to glow with the color of flames. Her clothing is a deep, rusty red, and is filthy with dust.

Despite her disheveled appearance though, when she looks up and spots Rose she brightens up immediately, revealing a wide grin with teeth that seem to shine white. “Oh, you’re not Kanaya! Hello there!”

Rose is taken aback momentarily by the friendly reception, but manages to respond with a smile of her own. “Hello, I’m sorry to intrude. This place looked abandoned.”

“Oh you’re not intruding.” The girl responds dismissively, before pausing in thought. “Well, you’re not intruding on me at least. The woman who does live here shouldn’t mind either though.”

“Would that be Kanaya?” Rose moves forward slowly but steadily, unsure if the girl is as friendly as she seems.

“Yes, that’s right! Have you met her? No, wait; I just said her name, didn’t I? Anyways, she’s out looking for somebody, but she should be back soon. I’m just hiding out in here until it’s safe. My name’s Aradia, by the way.”

“Charmed. My name is Rose.” Rose pauses as she speaks, realizing that using a false name would likely have been safer. Her name triggers no response from Aradia though, so she allows herself to relax somewhat. “Out of curiosity, what are you attempting to stay safe from?”

“A crapload of things, really!” Aradia replies casually, “but at the moment it’s mostly the bokoblins.”

“The what?” Rose frowns in confusion, but before Aradia can explain she’s cut off by the sound of doors opening. She’s about to turn around when she notices a pair of doors to her right that had previously escaped her attention.

Through them walks the most beautiful woman Rose has ever seen. She’s tall, enough to be intimidating, and has horns like Aradia’s, though hers stand pointed upright, the left one ending in an elegant yet deadly barb. Her hair is cut short, and styled in a curl around her ears, framing a face that seems stern, regal, and almost impossibly beautiful. Her skin is lacking the grey pigment that Aradia’s had, instead appearing so pale that it’s completely white. 

Almost as notable as her physical beauty is the beauty of her outfit, a long white coat buttoned off, a knee length skirt, and a long green scarf. If her face was beautiful, her outfit is immaculate. This is made that much more impressive by the sight of her hands, which wield long serrated swords that are dripping with gore. Rose gapes openly in both admiration and intimidation. The woman is incredible to look at, and judging by her blades, incredibly deadly. The level of skill it would take to kill somebody with such a weapon without covering oneself in blood must be immense.

As Rose gapes in awe at the woman, Aradia waves cheerily. “Hello Kanaya, any luck?”

“None whatsoever.” Kanaya grumbles irritably. “The bokoblins running about clearly mean that she’s evaded capture so far, but she’s also remained completely hidden from me. At this rate it’s only a matter of time before they beat me to her. There’s simply too many of them.”

“Well that’s a shame!” Aradia replies with a grin. “Hey, there’s a girl that just walked in a few minutes ago, maybe she’s seen Rose!”

Kanaya blinks, and then turns in the direction Aradia gestures, to see Rose still gaping at her. There’s a pregnant pause as Kanaya takes a moment to gape as well. “Aradia this is her.”

“What?” Aradia’s grin widens even further as she watches the two in amusement. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure it’s Rose!” Kanaya cries out in exasperation. “Who else would it be?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s check,” Aradia replies as she waves to get Rose’s attention. “Hey, what did you say your name was?”

Rose realizes she’s being addressed and snaps out of her stupor in surprise. “Oh! Um. I’m Rose, yes.”

“Cool, thanks!” Aradia shakes with barely restrained laughter as she turns back to Kanaya. “She says her name is Rose. I think she might be our girl!”

“Aradia.” Kanaya manages to contain her agitation long enough to give the girl a cool stare.

“Kanaya.” Aradia’s smile is so large it almost looks like it’s filling her entire face.

The staring contest lasts for almost half a minute before Kanaya gives in, sighing and giving a tired smile. “You are impossible when you get like this.” She mutters as she turns to address Rose.

“It’s a pleasure to finally…” Here Kanaya seems to catch herself, frowning as she thinks over her words, before continuing. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Rose. My name is Kanaya, as I’m sure you’ve realized.”

“Delighted.” Rose replies quietly, still feeling intimidated by the woman. “Thrilled, even.”

Kanaya’s smile broadens. “I’m glad to hear it. Now then! You’ve been brought here earlier than you were supposed to, so I’m sure you have questions. But first let’s do something about your appearance. My room is in the back here, so let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Wait.” Rose suddenly overcomes her sudden bout of shyness as Kanaya’s words sink in. “You know something about why I’m here? Does that mean you’re responsible for bringing me here?” 

“Not even slightly.” Kanaya says patiently. “The one responsible for your predicament is the one scouring the woods with Bokoblins as we speak. He is a stubborn sort, but he is no fool. It will only be a matter of time before he comes looking for you here. I suggest you spend some of that time cleaning the blood and dirt away. Once you’re presentable I will give you all the answers I can.”

Rose scowls at the implication that she’s not presentable at the moment, but the allure of a proper bath is too great to resist. Indeed, the water is already drawn when she is brought back. The sight of the steam rising gently from the bath, which seems to have been carved by hand from stone, is enough to strip Rose of all reason. By the time her thoughts catch up with her she has already tossed her tattered dress aside and is soaking herself in the water.

Rose looks and sees that Kanaya has already excused herself, to her relief. The woman is beautiful enough that Rose feels woefully inadequate in comparison. She glances down in the water and winces, seeing that her state was likely worse than she realized. The water is already beginning to darken from the mud and blood that covered her. She was so eager to soak that she neglected to wash herself properly before getting in.

The bath may not last long, but Rose still takes it as an opportunity to think things over. She’s not sure yet who brought her here, and she knows she doesn’t want to find out. But with more thought the true implications of Kanaya’s words are becoming clear.

Kanaya said she was brought here early. As though implying that her descent to the surface was a matter of inevitability. Rose’s thoughts shift unbidden to the mysterious voice she has been hearing in the weeks before this incident. She remembers the curiosity she’s felt since she was a child, wondering what might be below the clouds.

She knows now, and wishes she had never asked the question. 

“It would seem that destiny has it’s own designs for me.” Rose says to herself as she rises from the water. “If I am to survive down here, I need to figure out exactly what fate has in store. And if I ever want to see my friends and family again, I need to figure out how to escape it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I spent ages trying to get this damn chapter worked out, before realizing that the direction I was taking things just wasn't working out. At all. I basically deleted five pages of work, started the whole chapter from scratch, and managed to get this done in a fraction of the time I spent on the first draft, even with the car thing taken into account.
> 
> Let this be a lesson to you writers out there. If something feels wrong as you're writing it, trash that shit, because it probably is. If you're not comfortable with what you're writing it will show in your work. Even if you think that you're doing the best thing possible for your story there is always another option that will feel better while still making progress. English is a brilliantly flexible language.
> 
> Anyways, game based notes:
> 
> This is mostly based off of a few scraps of dialogue you get while chasing Zelda, as well as the small clips you see of her during the credit sequence. And holy shit, even with that small amount of info I found a narrative flaw. Namely, that Ghirahim, after abducting Zelda, drops her off directly at IMPA's feet. Not his feet, Impa's. She just wakes up, looks over, and there's Impa waiting for her. Ghirahim doesn't catch up to her until she's already in the forest temple. Just... what the heck? There's no logic to this at all! Rose's thoughts on the matter offer a little bit of that perspective on the matter, but the rest of my rebuttal shall be explained soon enough.
> 
> As for other notes, there's really just a few character introductions. I know Kanaya as Impa was an easy choice, and Aradia will be playing the part of the Goron Explorer (with a few tweaks). Congratulations to everyone who predicted those substitutions!
> 
> Also a shoutout to Rose who is just immediately falling head over heels for Kanaya. I know some people were disappointed that Rose/Kanaya took a backseat to other pairings in my last story, so I'm intending to do the two justice this time. Expect a long and interesting road with those two.
> 
> Next chapter: Rose's journey truly begins!


	8. Hidden Purpose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanaya discusses Rose's predicament, as Rose wonders just why she's been brought to the Surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck how did this one get so long?

When Rose emerges from the bathroom she sees that an outfit has already been set out for her by Kanaya. A lavender silk blouse, black pants, and a pinstripe vest of all things, which Rose cannot help but smile at. She lacks the elegance Kanaya made appear effortless, but after examining herself in the bathroom’s large crystal mirror she feels far closer to the world of fashion than she’s ever been.

She uses the mirror to ensure that she looks properly presentable, before emerging from the bathroom to find her headband and harp waiting for her, along with a simple black leather bag to keep the harp in. Rose regards the bag, along with the clothes she’s wearing, and deems them far too convenient. It merits further investigation.

Kanaya’s room is an interesting paradox, really, the bath was surprisingly elegant for such a drab building, yet her bed is hardly more than a flat slab of rock with some blankets thrown on top. Indeed, most of her room is sparse, with the only real exception being an elaborate desk in the far corner, covered with various sewing implements and fabrics. Snooping further reveals a door in the back leading to a closet full of enough clothes to dress every man woman and child in Skyloft.

“Did she make all of this herself?” Rose wonders aloud as she peers into the closet.

“That’s right. I’ve had a great deal of time to practice.”

It takes everything Rose has not to jump in surprise, but the surprise she feels still causes her spine to go as rigid as a board. If Kanaya notices (and Rose knows she must) she says nothing to indicate as much, instead gliding smoothly past Rose and into the vast closet. She plucks a lavender gown from its place and smiles fondly.

“Some of my earlier work was truly sloppy, but I have worked hard to improve. Though I dare say the most difficult part of the hobby is dissuading the moths.” There’s a pregnant pause, as Kanaya seems to hesitate, staring deeply into the fabric of the gown. Then she seems to remember herself, swiftly and carefully putting the gown back in its place and turning to Rose calmly. “Are the clothes I set out to your liking?”

“I’m curious as to the practicality of the pinstripe vest,” Rose replies with a small smile, “Though I can hardly deny the ensemble looks magnificent.”

“There is nothing impractical about vests.” Kanaya protests. “The shoes and tie that went with that outfit however… well I can hardly send you out in heels, can I?”

“You’d have yourself quite the struggle to convince me to put heels anywhere near my feet.” Rose replies with a smirk. “Though I must confess my current footwear is far from sufficient.” She glances over at her flats, lying next to the remains of her dress. “The terrain where I come from is far less… demanding.”

“Where is that, exactly?” Rose fails to contain her surprise at all this time as Aradia’s voice chimes in behind her. “I’ve been thinking for a while that you look completely different from any species I’ve ever seen before.” She pauses to think for a moment before smiling broadly. “No offense.”

“None taken, though I might be feeling less than charitable about being snuck up on.” Rose replies with a smirk.

Aradia frowns, “Sorry, got bored. Kanaya said she’d only be gone for a minute to check up on you.”

Kanaya flushes a deep green at this and frowns, “Oh my, I completely lost track of time.”

“As long as you let me in on this conversation, I’ll consider it forgiven.” Aradia steps forward lightly and leans in towards Rose. “So, what’s the story? You’re clearly not a troll, so…”

“I’m human.” Rose replies, to Aradia’s apparent delight. The girl’s smile grows to a disturbing level, prompting Rose to remark, “I’m surprised you’ve heard of my kind, from what I understand we’ve been gone from the surface for centuries.”

“Ha!” Aradia raises a fist triumphantly and strikes a pose, “What’s a century or two to an archeologist?”

“Not much I imagine.” Rose replies bemusedly, prompting Aradia to nod eagerly.

“I’ve been researching the war between the dark forces and the goddess for years now. The Goddess’ chosen people are a big part of that legend, so naturally I’ve picked up on a few things. They don’t mention what humans look like, but since I’ve never seen your kind before I figured there must be a connection!”

“Yes, quite impressive.” Kanaya chimes in, “Though I feel the effect is somewhat diminished by the fact that we are having this conversation in my closet.”

 

After a great deal of pushiness from Kanaya, the three orient themselves back in the main hall of the temple. Aradia seems eager to resume her discussion on history, but Kanaya swiftly takes over the conversation.

“Aradia, how much do you know about the Goddess’ chosen?” Kanaya asks calmly, before noting the look on Aradia’s face and swiftly interjecting with “keep it brief please. Time is growing short.”

Aradia frowns and thinks for a moment, before summarizing. “It’s hard to say. There are actually a lot of different theories out there. Some say the remnants of humanity were chosen to guard the Goddess’ power for their strength. Others say that they were her children, raised out of reach because she loved them more than any.” 

“In other words, you know nothing concrete.” Rose replies with a frown.

“Pretty much. There wouldn’t be much fun to archeology if you could find the truth that easily though.” Aradia shrugs with a grin.

“Be that as it may, finding the truth of this matter will be a matter of great importance soon.” Kanaya says firmly. “The secrets of the Goddess must be uncovered immediately.”

“How exciting!” Aradia cries eagerly. “So does that mean you need me to help you investigate?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Kanaya replies, “Though I myself will likely find it difficult to get involved.”

“Hold on.” Rose interjects, looking between the two. “I understand that you find some fulfillment in simply seeking for the sake of seeking Aradia, but this seems like the sort of situation that requires elaboration.”

Kanaya frowns at this, nodding to herself. “Yes, you’re right of course. Forgive me.”

Kanaya stands firmly. “The melodramatic nature of this situation does not escape my notice, but know that I am not joking when I say that there is evil afoot. Dark forces are stirring in our land, and at the center of it all lays one figure, lost to time. The Goddess.”

“Rose, you entered this temple from the pit, so you’re no doubt familiar with the obelisk at its base. No doubt you’ve seen the dark energy emanating from it as well.”

“I believe I can already see where this is going.” Rose replies with a frown. “Something is sealed away down there, isn’t it?”

“Something big, I’d bet!” Aradia chimes in, though her smile has turned nervous. “I tried to investigate when I first arrived here several months ago, but even then I couldn’t get close.”

“What is sealed away is none other than the leader of the dark forces.” Kanaya replies grimly. “An ancient being long forgotten to time itself, even as the damage he wrought remains. His followers remain, however, and attempt to release him to this day.”

“So you seek the power of the Goddess in order to renew the seal.” Rose affirms. “And I’m guessing those Bokoblin creatures you two mentioned before are playing for the other team.”

“Exactly. They seek the power to shatter the seal, while we must look to renew it.”

“Which leaves just one question.” Rose’s eyes narrow into slits as she regards Kanaya coolly. “Why am I involved with this?”

Kanaya freezes at this, looking uncertainly towards Aradia, who just shrugs. “Don’t look at me, I have no idea what’s been going on the past few days.”

Kanaya sighs, and turns to face Rose. “Even centuries after his defeat, one of the dark lord’s closest followers attempts to release his master. The damage he has wrought is obscene, and yet he has never grown any closer to achieving his goal. Until now. The power of the Goddess is the key, one way or the other. It will either release him, or trap him even more thoroughly than ever before.

“The power of the Goddess is hidden so well that there is nothing on the surface that reveals its location. And as long as the cloud barrier is in place there is no way to reach The Sky and look for it. It is clear that the dark lord’s follower has found a workaround. If he cannot reach The Sky, then he will bring somebody from The Sky to him.”

Rose stares levelly at Kanaya, knowing fully that there is more to this story. But the look on the older woman’s face is ironclad, revealing nothing more, and promising any attempt to glean further information to be futile. A feeling of dread suddenly sinks into the pit of Rose’s gut, and she turns aside with a bitter smile. “This dark pawn is wasting his time. I don’t know a damn thing about this hidden power myself.”

“It will not stop him from seeking you out.” Kanaya replies coldly, staring back towards the door she entered, where gore from her blades still stains the floor. “The bastard has far more resources than I am capable of handling.”

Rose sighs resignedly as she regards her two companions. Kanaya may have her secrets, but she is clearly on Rose’s side, or rather, on the side of the Goddess. That is certainly preferable to whatever twisted beings oppose her.

On the other hand though, Rose knows that the facts Kanaya keeps from her are directly related to the part Rose is meant to play in this crisis. And Rose refuses to allow herself to be led around like a puppet on strings. She refuses to play this game without knowing exactly what is expected of her.

If Rose is to be a free agent though, she needs to know exactly what her role is. If it should prove something Rose has interest in backing, then all the better. But if not…

Well, there will be time enough to consider that later. “So what do you suggest we do?” Rose asks Kanaya.

“I’m afraid there is little I can do myself.” Kanaya replies uneasily. “This place is the first and only gate between the thing sealed down there and the rest of the world. I must remain to protect the temple… and everything inside it.” Her eyes shift towards the stone doors at the back of the temple, if only for a moment. Aradia immediately perks up in interest, though she says nothing.

“Then you have plans for us.” Rose replies calmly, trading a glance with Aradia. “If this place is so important to you I can’t imagine you’d allow outsiders to linger without reason.”

“Well… I had hoped there would be more than just the two of you.” Kanaya admits with a frown. “Which reminds me, I had completely forgotten to ask with all that has been going on. Aradia, whatever happened to your travelling companion?”

Aradia scowls irritably at the question, “We’ve broken up.” This time it’s Rose’s turn to take interest, as Aradia continues. “He’s been acting even more uptight than usual, ever since those stupid Bokoblins started creeping around. He likes to think I can’t look after myself, and I got sick of him trying to drag me back to Eldin. So… I told him that until he pulls his head out of his ass we weren’t going to travel together or… do anything else.” She finishes with a blush.

“I don’t suppose there’s any chance you two could make up?” Kanaya asks pleadingly, to Aradia’s immediate ire. She sighs at the glare Aradia sends her and raises her hands in surrender. “Very well. I apologize, I simply felt with all that was going on his skill in a fight would be useful.”

“I can take care of myself. And I’m sure Rose can too, right?” Aradia looks over to Rose with an expression that seems to say: ‘Don’t let me down.’

“Well, if I had a weapon, certainly.” Rose replies with a frown. “I have received my fair share of knight’s training, after all. Combat training is somewhat of a necessity.”

Kanaya nods approvingly. “I have a few things lying around that may suit your preferences. Tell me, what sort of weapon do you prefer?”

“The rapier.” Rose has barely finished her reply before Kanaya gets up and wanders over to a large chest sitting against the wall. She opens it to reveal a massive collection of weapons sitting in disarray.

“There have been a great deal of unwanted guests over the years I’ve guarded this place.” Kanaya says calmly, as though trespassers are no more than a slight inconvenience. “They always seem convinced that there’s some form of artifact or treasure that might be sold for a profit. Even a few who have tried forcing their way through those doors.” At this Aradia seems to shrink visibly. “I deal with them all the same way, though their weapons I have kept on the off chance they’d be useful.”

She returns with a silver rapier, one that seems to be very well maintained, along with an equally preserved dagger. “Do you make use of a parrying dagger?”

“I’m not particularly well versed, but under the circumstances I feel the additional defense would likely be necessary.” Rose takes the weapons, holding them and testing the weight. The blades seem properly sharpened, and she holds them up in a simple combat stance, before deeming them suitable and setting them aside for the moment, having nowhere to put them. Kanaya takes note and immediately vanishes into her room.

“She seems very well prepared.” Aradia remarks, eyeing the weapons Rose received. “This metalworking is very old, yet the blades seem like they were forged yesterday. I wonder if her entire collection is like this.”

“Doubtful.” Rose replies coolly, staring down at the blades. “In fact, I’d wager anything that these are the only weapons from that chest that have been kept useable. That woman is far too prepared for my appearance.”

“Now that you mention it… how did she know your name?” Aradia’s gaze rises to meet Rose’s, her eyes widening. “Didn’t you just land here a few hours ago?”

“Indeed.” Rose says with as much false calm as she can muster. “Kanaya knows far more than she, or anyone else should. Tell me, what do you know about her?”

“Not much.” Aradia tilts her head thoughtfully. “This is the third temple I’ve been to in Faron, and I spent a while in the others. I’ve been in this forest a few months, but this place? A couple of days at most. I came here just after… well just after I split up from my, uh, friend. All I know about Kanaya is that she lives here, has probably lived here most of her life. And… she’s a lot older than she looks. When I look at her I get the same feeling I get when I see a relic that’s been preserved since ancient times.”

Rose frowns as she muses on this. That would add up with the bottomless closet, as well as her apparent combat skill. She may very well have spent decades or more honing her skills.

“I am back!” Kanaya calls out cheerily, as she emerges from her room bearing a thin black belt of woven leather. “It took some time to find something that would work well with your outfit. Here.” She passes the belt, along with leather scabbards for both the rapier and dagger, to Rose, who secures them easily.

“A perfect fit.” Rose muses. “Your work is quite impressive.”

If Kanaya hears the note of suspicion in Rose’s words she does nothing to indicate as much, instead preening at the compliment. “One does one’s best.” She replies modestly, before eying Aradia. “I might have time to work on your outfit as well, or perhaps I could get you a new bag?”

“Nah, we’d be here all week transferring everything over.” Aradia replies with a grin, indicating to Rose a backpack large enough to fit into that had previously and rather bafflingly escaped notice.

“True enough.” Kanaya admits, before striding towards the doors. “Now then, as to my aforementioned plans regarding the two of you. It is certainly true that my hands are full in attempting to maintain this place without trying to see to company. Your best bet will be to seek refuge elsewhere in the forest. Aradia, you are familiar with the temple on the far side of Faron, yes?”

“It was the first place I explored when I came to this province.” Aradia says with a happy smile. “Is that where we’re heading?”

“Indeed, to a spring at the heart of the temple. While not as well protected as this place, it is sacred ground, and therefore should dissuade monsters from appearing.”

Aradia frowns at this. “I’m not sure I’ve been there. Did I miss something when I was there last?” Her frown twists immediately into a wide grin. “How exciting!”

“Indeed. This spring should prove very important to our needs.” As she speaks Kanaya’s eyes dart towards Rose for just an instant, something that Rose takes note of. “The source of fresh drinking water should prove-”

Kanaya freezes suddenly, her head tilted as though listening for something, though Rose can’t sense anything beyond the temple’s stifling silence. Then, without warning, Kanaya curses aloud, her hands snapping together into a rapid series of unknown gestures, that ends with Kanaya’s hands outstretched towards the massive doors that Rose first entered the temple from.

An image of golden chains appears on the door, wrapping around the perimeter of the door before coming into the middle to point at the image of a giant crying eyeball that also appeared in the center. There’s a brief moment of silence apart from the thrumming of power from the golden images on the door. Then, from outside, comes the sound of a massive explosion of power.

A flash of white light flares through the gaps in the ancient door, but the light seems to hold it at bay. The ground trembles as dust falls from the ceiling and walls. Then everything falls silent.

“Damnit all!” A voice spits out from outside the doors. “Will you just come out and make this easier on both of us? I happen to have better things to do than chase you down.”

“I suppose he’s talking to me.” Rose remarks dryly, as she shakily rises to her feet.

“Hello? Is anyone listening to me? Look, normally I’d be handling this with a lot more composure, but seriously I’ve been trying to find a certain somebody for the better part of the day and I am seriously fed up with it all. I’m just trying to get this mess dealt with so I can go about my business and I would appreciate a little cooperation here!”

“Shit!” Kanaya spits as she strides swiftly towards her room. “They must have realized you slipped through their net already. Get ready to leave in a hurry!”

“That was some kind of power we just got hit with!” Aradia remarks in interest as she rushes for her bag. “Kinda makes you wonder just what kind of crazy situation we’ve been dragged into!”

“Indeed.” Rose muses as she checks her bag and belts to ensure the few possessions she still has are secure. “I must say this would be rather infuriating if it wasn’t so terrifying.”

“I find it all rather exciting myself!” Aradia says with a laugh as she throws her pack over her shoulders with hardly any effort and pulls a whip from a loop of leather set on its side. “Can’t explore ancient ruins without a healthy appreciation for danger!”

“I wouldn’t know.” Rose remarks, following Aradia’s lead and drawing her sword. “The Sky doesn’t really have ancient undiscovered ruins. We tend to view any and all land as precious commodity.”

“Well that sounds boring.” Aradia replies with a scowl. “How could you even stand living in a place like that?”

“We get to ride birds. It’s a fine way to pass the time.” Rose says drily; as Kanaya reappears with her serrated swords, now clear of gore. “I’d be happy to show you supposing we live through this.”

“It’s a date.” Aradia winks as Kanaya reaches the side doors of the temple and braces herself against them.

“As soon as I open these doors, run as fast as you can!” Kanaya snaps. “Aradia knows the way; she can guide you to safety while I cover your escape.”

“Stick close to me, I’m betting you humans don’t have much for night vision.” Aradia says with a grim smile. Rose nods in confirmation as Kanaya throws the doors open and finds herself facing a horde of what Rose can only assume to be bokoblins.

The creatures are short, fat, and ugly, with red leathery skin and upturned noses. Their head is covered with patchy white tufts of hair, and they’re dressed in small amounts of fur. Despite their small stature, their body ripples with muscle as they brandish their jagged metal weapons, and as they scream in fury they reveal tongues that glow bright blue, and teeth stained with blood.

Rose and Aradia stare in shock at the mass of creatures ahead of them, but Kanaya doesn’t hesitate for a moment. She stares out at the beasts and screams a war cry, diving forward and tearing through the creatures like wet paper. Very wet paper. Rose has to pause to recollect herself as a torrent of blood starts pouring out.

“Rose, we need to go before they close in on her!” Aradia urges, dragging Rose into a run that sends the two hurtling into the wake of Kanaya’s devastation. The ground is already wet with blood, as Kanaya’s weapons tear into flesh with minimal effort. Fortunately for Rose Kanaya’s ability to direct blood away from her clothes seems to extent to her wards.

After a short period of time though the bokoblins recollect themselves and begin to push back against Kanaya’s furious assault, closing in on Aradia and Rose behind her. Aradia let’s out a potent battle cry of her own, letting her whip snap out at the first creature to draw close and sending them scurrying away with a screech, a gash neatly torn across their face.

“Come get some!” Aradia crows triumphantly, her whip snapping at the feet of the Bokoblins and driving them back, as Rose leads her along on Kanaya’s heels. The next Bokoblin to approach finds a fresh cut on his feet, as the thin leather cord tears through skin. It falls away limping, as the others halt, too cowardly to approach.

“What the ever loving fuck am I looking at?” A voice calls out indignantly. The Bokoblins freeze, and even Kanaya pauses for a moment before tearing into her foes with renewed vehemence. “Are you incompetent morons really letting yourself be held back by a fucking whip?”

Rose recognizes the voice as the same one that was battering down the temple doors before, and looks up to see a caped figure standing against the silhouette of the rising moon. The figure sighs loudly, an action that seems to pull his whole body into motion as he slumps to face the floor. “It is so hard to find good help these days.” The man mutters dramatically.

Kanaya swears again and throws her weapons into the crowd, knocking the Bokoblins aside like rubbish. She whirls around, grabbing Aradia and Rose and pushing them into the opening she’s created, snapping her hands into a series of gestures similar to the sequence she used earlier. “Run! Now!” She calls urgently.

“Well that just won’t do.” The man says smugly, raising a white staff to point at the trio. “Oh, but you’re ready for that, aren’t you?” He says mockingly, before firing a blast of energy that tears a massive furrow into the ground that cuts off Rose and Aradia’s escape. “You won’t be pulling any tricks this time Kanaya!”

“Damn you Eridan!” Kanaya snarls in rage. “I’ll die before I let you succeed here!”

“Fine with me.” The next blast comes straight for Kanaya, who forms another sign with her hands and summons a golden barrier to protect her. The blast hits the barrier and is stopped cold. Eridan sighs as Kanaya uses her now free hands to draw another pair of blades from within her coat. “Yeah, okay, walked right into that one.”

“Okay, looks like Kanaya can handle herself, let’s go.” Aradia mutters as she grabs Rose by the waist.

“Not that I disagree, but where exactly are we meant to go?” Rose wonders aloud. “Climbing that trench will take too long, and we’ll be vulnerable inside.”

“So we go over it. Hang on tight!” Aradia runs forward, with Rose barely holding on in a bizarre stumbling gait reminiscent of a three-legged race.

“Wait what the fuck are they doing?” Eridan asks aloud from behind them, before calling out in an irritated voice, “Don’t just stand there you useless idiots, stop them!”

Rose glances over her shoulder to see Eridan leap down from his vantage point and clash with Kanaya, his staff meeting and withstanding her blades easily. As they fight, the bokoblins begin recollecting themselves. Those knocked aside by Kanaya’s blades pull themselves to their feet, as the ones still standing give chase.

Aradia suddenly grabs Rose by the waist, pulling her off the ground and holding her under one arm like a sack of flour. Rose dangles helplessly in shock as Aradia leaps from the ground and plants one foot directly on the head of a rising bokoblin, who screams in panic as she launches herself further into the air.

Aradia laughs like a maniac as her whip snaps out into the air and grabs a tree branch far above. There’s a moment of calm before her leap suddenly transitions into a jolting swing that knocks the air out of Rose all over again.

“Sorry boys, this bird’s gotta fly!” Aradia cries out with a whooping laugh, as she releases Rose just in time for the two to crash into the ground. She lays there giggling even as Rose rolls to her feet and regains her senses.

“Aradia, they have bows, I suggest we make good with our escape.” Rose says urgently, pulling Aradia and her ridiculously heavy backpack to her feet with no small effort.

“Oh damnit will you fuckers just get her already?” Eridan yells impatiently, as he ducks beneath Kanaya’s blades. The bokoblins fire a few arrows, but they fall short as Rose and Aradia leave them behind. “DAMNIT! THIS ISN’T OVER! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!”

Rose shudders as the sounds of Eridan’s furious yelling dies out behind them, and she slows down enough for Aradia to take the lead.

“That was intense, huh!” Aradia says cheerily as she skips through the forest. “It’s alright though, by the time he’s gotten away from Kanaya we’ll be long gone. We’ll get to that spring in no time! Then we just have to wait until this all blows over.”

Rose smiles weakly at Aradia as she follows, but she’s not at all convinced. Eridan had incredible power and a huge army of followers. He seemed at least as strong as Kanaya was, and she wouldn’t be able to save them if he found them once more. As for the spring…

Rose knows that she is directly involved in this mess on a far deeper level than Kanaya seemed willing to imply. And there is little doubt that the spring she is heading for will be linked to her role somehow.

But what is that role?

And does Rose really want any part in it?

As she continues on with Aradia, Rose finds herself thinking once more that she won’t like the answers to her questions when she finds them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the cleanest of endings, I'll admit. But it's exactly where I wanted to leave off, so there we go.
> 
> This chapter is mostly based off of me trying to guess at what Impa could have said to send Rose off on her magical journey. I'm keeping it vague though, mostly because Rose hates that sort of crap. She's also got a sword because why the hell not?
> 
> Seriously though.
> 
> Why the hell not?
> 
> The game clearly states that Zelda is training at the knight's academy, so of course she'll have the same sword training that Link's had. Even if Link is the kind of guy who spends his free time training there (which is implied to be the case by his trainer) he still shouldn't be that much more adept than Zelda is when their journey begins. So really the fact that she plays damsel in distress the whole damn game makes very little sense.
> 
> Let's look at a different example: twilight princess, my favorite zelda game. Zelda is still clearly the damsel in distress for most of the game, but at the same time it's totally different because of how the character carries herself. She is every bit the regal, wise, and capable ruler she should be, her situation is just the result of her sacrificing herself for the sake of her people. In the scene where she and Zant meet she is ready to throw down... until Zant's shadow beasts start taking hostages of her guard and he threatens to pretty much destroy everything she rules over. It's still not an ideal situation speaking on the whole feminism standpoint, but there's still no doubt that the Zelda in that game is a capable badass in her own way.
> 
> Zelda in Skyward Sword on the other hand was nothing more than a basic anime waifu cliche, when she was in the perfect position to be something much more. She should have been on the same level as Link, a fellow classmate with every bit the training he's had. Instead she's basically his groupie until she gets abducted and basically just becomes a thing for us to chase. It worked for me at first glance, because I'm a male otaku and am therefore a sucker for that sort of stuff. But when I compare it to other games I liked better the problems became clear. Really most of my issues with other Zelda games come from comparing them to Twilight Princess. Or Link to the Past, but that's just a whole different standard to live up to.


	9. Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxy prepares herself both mentally and physically for the task ahead.

“Okay… so how are we doing this?” Roxy mutters in confusion as she stares down at the pedestal in the middle of the room. “Is there some sort of incantation, or magic word? Do I have to grease the blade?”

“No. What?” Fi gapes at Roxy from her new position reclining against the ceiling. “You just pull it out.”

Roxy stares at the pedestal, or more specifically, the sword standing in it. “Yeah, but like, you said it was specially designed so it people couldn’t just remove it.”

“Unless they’re the chosen hero, in which case they totally can!” Fi rolls her eyes. “And as I’ve said at least three times now, you are the chosen hero. It is you.”

Roxy grimaces as she turns her gaze up to Fi. “You say that, but swords in enchanted pedestals are really not my thing. My swordplay is complete shit.” Roxy glances back down at the sword in distaste, “Also, this thing was in you for half of our conversation, so I’m really not sure I want to go touching it.”

“Oh smarten up.” Fi floats down and waves her hand through the hilt of the blade. “I’m a freaking projection, the sword was never really in me. It’s more like I’m the one in the sword. It doesn’t even matter if you use the thing, you just need to carry it so I can tell you where to go.”

“Not really selling me on that one.” Roxy grumbles under her breath, even as she reaches out to take the blade in hand. “I’d rather just fly down myself and die in peace and quiet.”

“Just pull.”

“Fine!” Roxy sighs as she gives the blade an experimental tug. To her surprise she finds that it glides out of the stone floor with ease. “Oh snap, that was easy. You sure you secured this properly?”

“Oh my Goddess just kill me now.” Fi slaps a hand against her head with an audible clapping noise, which raises all sorts of questions in Roxy’s head about how the laws of physics pertain to magical projections.

“I’m just saying, if this is a special sword that only I can use, getting it out of the pedestal should be like a ceremony or something! You need to do your part to make a girl feel special!”

“The special part comes from the fact that only you can use it.”

“Which we’ve already established I will not be doing.” Roxy huffs as she checks her waist for a spot to hang the sword. “Damn, we need to head to my place so I can get like a belt for this thing.”

“Wait, before you go, there’s one last thing you need to do.” Fi gestures towards an emblem of the goddess against the back wall. “Hold the sword up in the air, then swing it at that emblem.”

Roxy scrutinizes Fi as she raises the blade, “This seems really silly, are you pranking me?”

“Are you going to question every single thing I tell you?” Fi snaps irritably, “Hold it straighter.”

Roxy huffs grumpily, but complies all the same. The blade is definitely too heavy for her liking, and her shoulder aches with the strain of keeping it upright. Just as she’s about to ask what she’s doing the blade starts glowing with a sharp hum, and Roxy almost groans with relief as rather than swinging she simply lets her arm drop.

The resulting blade of light that flies through the air to strike her target leaves Roxy gaping, and she stares down at the sword in admiration. “If that didn’t take so long to trigger that would be really useful!”

“It’s mostly used as a sort of introduction.” Fi explains, indicating the now glowing emblem on the wall. “You use that attack to prove that you’ve been chosen by the Goddess.”

“So no actual combat function. Just like the actual blade. Nice.” Roxy sighs as she watches the emblem rise to make way for a stone altar set with a piece of an old stone tablet. “So what does this do for me?”

“This is the key to getting through the cloud barrier.” Fi gestures to a small green gemstone set in the tablet. “By revealing it you’ve triggered an opening in the clouds that should let you down in the general area where your sister fell.”

“Holy shit that’s convenient!” Roxy gasps as she rushes up to the tablet. As far as she can tell, it’s some sort of map, but she’s not familiar with any of the features on it. Perhaps it’s intended as a chart of the surface?

“It’s lucky is what it is.” Fi’s grumbling interrupts Roxy’s thoughts, as she floats forward to gaze at the tablet. “There are other pieces of this thing down on the surface, but this was all we were able to bring up. Ideally, we’d have ways to reach every major territory below, but it simply wasn’t possible.”

“Why’s that?” Roxy turns to face Fi curiously, and find the girl’s face drawn tight with fury as she stares at the tablet. “Uhh… sore subject?”

“Very much so.” Fi growls, before sighing and turning back to Roxy. “I apologize. I realize this whole situation is a lot to take in, so I’ll not bore you with further details. There’s little point in telling you another centuries old story that will have no effect on what happens now.”

“Uhh, right.” Roxy draws back, unwilling to pry further, before glancing back down at her hand, still clutching the sword. “Right! We need to get back to my place pronto! I gotta get my stuff together and get going before anybody finds out what I’m doing.”

“You think secrecy is necessary?” Fi raises an eyebrow in suspicion, as she follows Roxy to the entrance of the chamber.

“Let me put it like this…” Roxy glances back at Fi with a sheepish grin, “I won’t be the only one having trouble believing in this whole chosen hero thing. Not by a long shot.”

 

Roxy sighs in relief as she finally closes the door to her house behind her. Her preferred color choices of white and pink are really not suited for sneaking around in, and she makes up her mind to bring more dark clothing along when she goes to the surface. She doesn’t want John or Karkat or anybody else following her down to some mysterious unknown land.

“Coast clear?” She turns to Fi as the girl floats over to the window.

“We’re safe.” Fi turns back to inspect the house she’s been brought into. “I’m assuming the rock is a recent addition?”

“What? Oh shit!” Roxy glances back and gasps as she notices the huge stone that seems to have punched a hole in the roof. “Yeah, that was totes not there this morning.”

“At least this should mean that the house will be empty.” Fi notes, floating ahead. “The knights of Skyloft will never allow people to shelter in a home that could collapse from damages.”

“Collapse? Geez, you think?” Roxy glances up at the hole nervously. “Aw man, I’ve done some damage to this place before, but I never brought the roof down!”

“What sort of damage are we talking about?” Fi asks as she floats down the hall curiously. “Oh.” She stops next to the kitchen and stares blankly. “I guess the drunk sort of damage.”

“Yeaahhh…” Roxy grimaces at the look of shock on Fi’s face. “That might be why I’ve got a bit of a reputation…”

“You’re the town drunk.” Fi whispers more to herself than to Roxy. “I’m entrusting my mission to the town drunk.”

“Fraid so!” Roxy says with a resigned smile. “Try to keep your overwhelming horror to a low volume while I get changed.”

Roxy steps into her room, thankfully undamaged, and gazes at her closet forlornly. “I really don’t have a lot of clothes that aren’t bright pink, huh?” She grumbles to herself.

“You have something with your loftwing that might work.” Fi pipes up, prompting Roxy to jump in shock. 

“Holy shit why are you here? You may have been sitting in a cave for a thousand years but I’d think you still remember to give a girl her privacy!” Roxy cries out in mortification, throwing her hands up to cover herself despite being fully clothed.

“You brought the sword in with you, I didn’t have much of a choice.” Fi deadpans. “Besides, I would have spoken up before you got naked.”

“How long before?” Roxy replies suspiciously. 

Fi smiles nervously. 

Roxy throws the sword down the hallway so hard it sticks in the floor in front of the front door, dragging Fi along behind it. “If you try anything like that again I swear I will devote all of my time on the surface to learning how to hurt you!”

“Geez, alright, I’m sorry okay? You try spending a hundred years with no human contact and we’ll see how pent up you feel!” Fi protests as she flails her hands irritably.

“I so did not need to know that!” Roxy throws her arms up in frustration. “Besides, you’re some kind of ghost, seeing me in my damn bra is really only going to make things worse for you, because you won’t be able to do anything about it!”

“I…” Fi blinks as she considers Roxy’s words. “Damn, you’re right.” She sighs and lets herself sink down to the floor. “Being a sword spirit sucks.” She gestures listlessly to the hole in the roof. “Okay, consider your point made, now go get that thing from your bird.”

“Right…” Roxy glares at Fi for a moment, but decides in the end that leaving the girl alone with her existential torment is a better punishment than anything she could come up with.

Frigglish is already waiting up above the opening when Roxy peers up, with his saddlebag dangling from his bill. Good bird, best friend. “Atta boy Frigglish, now drop it down for me!” She catches the bag and carries it back to her room, pausing to give a warning glare to Fi on her way. The spirit is too preoccupied to notice.

“So let’s see what we’ve got…” Roxy trails off as she remembers exactly what the clothing in her saddlebag is. It’s her knight uniform. Roxy sighs and sits down on her bed sadly as her conversation with John comes racing back to the forefront of her thoughts. 

“Become somebody Skyloft can rely on…” Roxy says with a sigh. “Because as I am now, I’m nothing like that.” The words hurt still, especially since they came from John Egbert, AKA the most forgiving and adorkably kind person in Skyloft. Turns out even he has his limits, and Roxy has now decidedly pushed her way past them.

She seems to have done that with a lot of people today. Rose, Karkat, John, hell, even Tavros found something to criticize with her today. And the worst part is Roxy knows full well she probably deserved it.

Roxy stares down at the knight’s uniform and marvels at how a person’s viewpoint can change so drastically in a few hours. She still doesn’t deserve to be a knight. But things don’t seem hopeless anymore.

Roxy changes into the dark blue uniform. Honestly she still thinks it clashes with her eyes, but she thinks she can probably live with it now. She finishes the look with an old purple scarf Rose once made for her. It's pretty small for her now, but it will likely still come in useful. She examines herself in the mirror and grins in approval.

“I’ll show Karkat who can’t recognize when to stop fucking around.” Roxy nods to herself. “I’m going to find who or whatever’s responsible for taking my sister, and I’m going to fuck them up! Aww yes!”

Roxy starts rushing around the room doing everything she can to make sure that she’ll be prepared for a trip to the surface. She digs up her training sword, throws the blade aside, and straps the scabbard to her belt so that it rests perpendicular to her spine. Her bow gets the seat of honor on her back within easy reach, along with her quiver, and she finishes by slotting knives into place on each hip, along with a third, which she tucks into her boot. Roxy has always preferred using her fists in a close range fight, but mastering a bladed weapon is required for any knight-to-be.

She moves on to the kitchen, pointedly ignoring Fi as she watches suspiciously. Roxy kicks the mess of bottles aside as she makes her way to the cupboards, where she remembers a stash of cured meat kept on a high shelf. She digs that out, along with some dried slices of stamina fruit and a loaf of bread, wraps everything in paper, and stores it in her saddlebag. This is followed shortly by two water skins, to be filled at the first chance she gets. The lake water can no longer be trusted due to the debris that now fills it, and she doesn’t have time to filter it.

Roxy frowns as she realizes she may not be able to find clean water in the near future. Her family never bothered to keep a rain barrel, and she’d rather leave the stored water for everyone else in town anyways. They probably need it more. After deliberating on the matter for a moment or two, she shrugs her shoulders and decides she’ll just wing it. She finishes her task by filling a flask with alcohol, for her nerves. Then she fills another just to be safe. 

“If you still want to sneak out of here you’d better hurry, the sun’s coming up!” Fi calls from the front door, prompting Roxy to grimace and stash the flasks away in her bag. She’s clearly been lingering a bit too long.

“Alright, let’s get going.” Roxy says confidently, striding back into the main hall.

Fi smiles a little at the sight. “Hey, you look pretty good! Maybe you are hero material after all!”

“Whether I do or don’t, I’m the only hero you’ve got.” Roxy replies with a shrug, grabbing Fi’s sword and sliding it into her scabbard. The scabbard is definitely too long for the blade, not to mention too long to comfortably fit in it’s position against her lower back, but Roxy needs the damn thing so she’s keeping it the one place on her uniform she has room.

“You should tie that in place for now.” Fi comments as she watches the sword rest awkwardly in the scabbard. “You said yourself you wouldn’t use the thing.”

“Maybe later.” Roxy shrugs. “Don’t have the time to practice knot tying.”

“Fair enough.” Fi floats outside, with Roxy trailing behind. The two glance towards the east, where the first glimpses of dawn are appearing over the clouds.

The light carries easily towards the town, casting long shadows across the splintered beams and ruined buildings that cover the ground. Roxy pauses, struck by how dreadful the carnage appears in the sunlight. Fi looks on with an expression of resignation. “It’ll only get worse from here. There are far more deadly things than storms below the clouds.”

“Well there’s about to be one more.” Roxy says as she mounts her loftwing and fits the saddlebag back in place. Reaching into one of the pockets nearest Frigglish’s neck, she pulls out a pair of tinted goggles and snaps them over her eyes, facing the sunrise without flinching. “Now let’s go save my sister.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this was so much harder than I feel it should have been. Starting the quest is so much easier in the game, where you're playing a character without discernible emotions. Here it's a mess of solidifying motivations and travel preparations that the game skips. Not to mention the need to provide a decent physical description of Roxy's look for this story. 
> 
> If the above didn't make it clear, think Link's tunic in Roxy's God Tier coloring, plus scarf because that girl looks damn good in scarves. Her weapons are set up pretty simple, knives on the hips, bow on back, with the sword stuck sideways below the bow. The sword looks kinda out of place because Roxy's only carrying it to talk to Fi, and just doesn't use the thing. Also, a little design note I glanced over before, no hats for these knights, they all wear hooded tunics instead. This isn't so much because God Tier as it is because I just think hoods look better.
> 
> She's basically completely badass. As she should be.
> 
> The goggles Roxy is wearing aren't really a regular costume thing; riders use them when dealing with bad weather or sun. Loftwing saddlebags are filled with all sorts of shit for different flying conditions.


	10. Grounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and the other people of Skyloft take stock of the damage done to their home.

“Three days.”

“What?” John stares dumbfounded up at the towering figure of the aviary master, certain he must be mishearing things.

“Three days, little man.” Simon Nitram says calmly, but firmly. “Between the ceremony, the storm, and hauling dead weight all the way to the Lumpy Pumpkin, Casey is in serious need of rest. You’re grounded.”

“I knew she was tired, but three days…” John sighs in disbelief.

“Just be glad we didn’t get her fucking injured or something.” Karkat says with a grimace. “Half the birds in Skyloft are going to be grounded for weeks.”

“He’s not wrong.” Simon nods sagely. “Most of the knights were airborne when the storm hit. We’re in rough shape here. Considering what you’ve been up to you got off lucky.”

“Right… you’re right.” John mutters as he nods to himself. “We’ll just have to hope…”

“The others will find her.” Karkat places a hand consolingly on John’s shoulder, even as his other clenches at his side. He glances up at Simon. “How about Thresh, is the fat featherweight grounded too?”

Simon’s expression lightens a bit at that, a casual smirk crossing his face as he shrugs. “Nah, your bird is fine. Having a cargo bird comes with some benefits, take it from me.”

“Great to hear the fucker is good for something.” Karkat grumbles, trying to keep his relief from showing visibly. “Come on John, let’s get going.”

John reluctantly agrees, allowing Karkat to lead him out of the aviary. Tavros smiles halfheartedly as they leave. “Don’t worry John, my father will take good care of your bird.”

“Thanks Tavros.” John replies glumly as the two climb the path into Skyloft.

“Let’s just hope Dave and Sollux were able to pull their heads out of their asses long enough to get shit done.” Karkat grumbles as he pulls John along. “It’s only a matter of time before we’re too busy to go hunting for runaways. What the fuck was Roxy thinking?”

“She was probably thinking that she wanted to get as far away from me as possible.” John says sullenly. “I don’t know what I was thinking, saying all that crap to her right after Rose…”

“She needed to hear it.” Karkat snaps back. “Shit’s fucked everywhere you look right now, and Rose isn’t the only person we lost. There’s people injured and trapped all over the place. We all need to get our shit together now.” He pointedly gazes to the right, where the massive wall of clouds rises to cover half the sky. “People could die otherwise.”

“Karkat she watched her sister get dragged away screaming by a tornado.”

“Fuck John, I was there, you don’t have to tell me!” Karkat replies, looking stricken. “You were there too! She lost her sister and we lost one of our best friends, and all of us were fucking powerless to do anything about it! A bunch of useless fucking idiots just sitting there watching.” He stops as his voice catches. “I was the only one out there who could even do anything, but I was just too fucking slow.”

“It’s not your fault Karkat.” John says quietly, glancing away as Karkat rubs at his eyes furiously. “And it’s not Roxy’s either, regardless of what we said.”

“I know.” Karkat mutters, before continuing up the path. “We fucked up, John. We got so fucking worked up about Rose that we took it out on Roxy, and now they’re both missing.”

“Yeah.” John sighs. The two remain silent for the rest of the walk up to the town square. 

Dave is already waiting for them when they arrive. “Hey team, how’s the birds.”

“Thresh is fine, the stubborn fucker doesn’t know when to quit.” Karkat says with a shrug. “Casey is grounded for the next three days.”

“Shit.” Dave replies, drawing out the word as he looks aside. “Guess you’re on kitchen duty, huh?”

“They’ll probably put me on construction.” John says with a shrug. “Jane’s already got plenty of help, especially since Jade came back with us this morning.”

“Egbert family, dividing and conquering. Hardcore.” Dave replies, staring up into the sky distractedly. “So, uh… about Roxy.”

“You found her?” John says with sudden focus.

“Not exactly.” Dave answers, his expression carefully blank. “Some people thought they saw her around the goddess statue last night, but the headmaster has it locked off right now. Told me off for going near it. Looks like she’s got the other instructors guarding it right now for whatever reason. Tried asking them about it but my Bro just told me to piss off.”

“What the fuck is that about?” Karkat snaps, drawing a frown from Dave.

“Like i just said, nobody told me shit about it.” Dave replies irritably. “Anyways, I checked their place and it looks like she was there, but probably not for long. There’s a big fucking rock in their house now, so I guess she didn’t want to stick around.”

“Damnit.” Karkat sighs resignedly. “Guess that was too much to hope for.”

“Yeah.” Dave nods. “For how loud and bright she can be, the girl is good at staying hidden when she wants to.”

“Hopefully Sollux has more luck.” John says morosely, glancing out across the sky.

“Depends on what kind of luck you’re talking about.” Sollux’s voice calls out from above, and the three glance up in surprise just in time to see Sollux land in front of them.

“What kind of cryptic bullshit is that?” Karkat snaps as Sollux dusts himself off. “Did you find Roxy or didn’t you?”

“I found Frigglish.” Sollux replies with a frown. “I guess I just missed you guys at the Aviary, she’s resting right now.”

“And Roxy?” John’s gaze is expectant as Sollux turns to face him.

“She wasn’t there.” Sollux says uncomfortably. “Her bird was flying out by that big light that started up last night, but I didn’t see Roxy.”

“You mean that green thing?” Karkat peers out at the light in question, still visible even in the daytime.

“Yeah.” Sollux hesitates before continuing. “It’s about where you guys saw Rose fall, right?”

John’s moving before his brain can catch up with him. He hears Karkat shout in alarm behind him, and suddenly Dave and Sollux are hauling him back by the shoulders.

“Bad idea man, really stupid idea!” Dave grunts as he fights to hold John back, but even with Sollux helping John still struggles forward. It isn’t until Karkat steps in that the three of them are able to drag John away from the edge of the island.

“Let me go! I can’t lose her too, not after Rose just died!”

“YOU FUCKING SHIT-BRAINED IMBECILE, DID YOU FORGET YOU DON’T HAVE A LOFTWING RIGHT NOW?” Karkat screeches as he hauls John back by his tunic.

John freezes at this, before slumping lifelessly so suddenly that all four boys crash into the dirt. Karkat screams wordlessly as he finds himself being crushed by a fellow student for the second time in less than twelve hours.

“Hardly a flattering position for our youngest knight to be finding himself in.” A voice chimes in amusement, causing the four to freeze in surprise. They spring to their feet as fast as they can and salute dutifully at Headmaster Lalonde as she smirks bemusedly down at them.

“Apologies for making a scene headmaster!” John says contritely, “I accept full responsibility for the disturbance.”

“It’s quite fine, John. Tell me, how is your bird?”

“Casey will be grounded for three days as per official orders from the aviary.”

“A pity. And your bird, Karkat?”

“A stubborn bastard as always, ma’am.” Karkat replies with a shrug.

“I’m glad to hear it. We’ll need every available bird we have in the air in the coming days. On that note, does anyone here know where my Roxy might be?” The casual nature with which the question is asked is betrayed entirely by the fists clenched at the headmaster’s sides.

The boys all pause at the question, unsure of what to say. Dave elbows Sollux and gives a meaningful look, receiving a kick in the shins in return, before Karkat loses patience and shoves them both forward. “These two idiots have been looking for her.”

“Whoa don’t look at me, I found nothing, remember?” Dave says uneasily, stepping back once again. Ms. Lalonde’s gaze shifts minutely toward Sollux, causing him to grimace.

“We don’t know where she is… but I found her bird by that light to the south east.” Sollux replies uncomfortably. “Frigglish is at the aviary now, and has some bad bruising which will probably take a week or so to clear.”

Ms. Lalonde turns to stare blankly at the light, her face unreadable. “So it’s come to that then,” she murmurs to herself, quietly enough that the others can hardly hear her. “I had hoped…”

“Hoped for what?” John is unable to keep himself from asking.

The headmaster frowns as she turns back to the others. “It doesn’t matter anymore. At any rate, it seems clear that Roxy is no longer within our reach. I pray to the Goddess that she will be alright, but for now…” She pauses as she looks meaningfully over the town, “We have other tasks to attend to.”

“Yeah, on that note, what are we going to do anyways?” Dave asks, gazing back towards the damaged city. “Because we’ve got a whole lot of cleaning up to do and not a lot of birds to do the job.”

“John’s father sent scouts out at first light.” Ms. Lalonde explains, as she leads the group towards the academy with a gesture. “With any luck he’ll have more to tell us about our situation soon. In fact…” she pauses for a moment and peers towards the academy. “Judging by the crowd I’d say he’s received news already. Let us hurry.”

Ms. Lalonde’s stride quickens, and she swiftly leaves her followers behind as she effortlessly weaves through the crowd. Sollux stops at the edge of the mass of people, content to simply watch over everyone’s heads, and the others choose to listen to him rather than fight through the mob.

“Looks like Meulin is up there.” he comments. “She’s covered in blood, but Jane’s looking at her right now. It doesn’t look serious, but you’d still think they’d be taking her to the infirmary.”

“Is my dad there yet?” John asks.

Sollux peers over the crowd. “Doesn’t look like it. Probably still busy somewhere else.”

“They’re probably waiting for him,” John muses. “Not too many other people know sign language around here.” 

“Don’t you know sign language KK?” Sollux looks over to Karkat, only to find that the boy is staring blankly into space. “KK? You still with us?”

“Snap out of it dude.” Dave jostles Karkat with an elbow, the simple act startling him badly enough that he jumps half a foot in the air with a squawk.

“Fuck Dave, what do you want?” Karkat snarls defensively.

“Dude, do you know sign language? Your dad is friends with Meulin’s family, right?”

Karkat grimaces at the question, but quickly recovers, pushing his way forward. “Right, yeah, fuck. I’m not fluent, but I know enough to get through a conversation.” He starts elbowing his way into the crowd with a scream. “CLEAR A PATH ASSHOLES, INTERPRETER COMING THROUGH!”

“What got into him?” John watches him go in concern.

“His family lives over by the isle of song, remember?” Dave replies grimly. “When the storm hit a whole lot of people rushed for their homes to secure their belongings. That’s why so many knights are injured right now.”

“Including the Vantas and Leijon families!” Sollux hisses as he clues in. “Which means that Meulin and Karkat’s families are both somewhere in that storm…”

“And Meulin may know what happened to them.” John finishes, looking stricken. “Cripes, he never told me his family was missing!”

“He’s been trying not to think about it.” Dave shrugs. “From how he was talking to me it seemed like he thought his family was just hunkered down somewhere in the storm. But with Meulin like this…”

“Well we’ll find out soon.” Sollux cuts in, looking over the crowd again. “Karkat’s made it up there.”

John climbs onto a nearby crate to watch the proceedings, and finds things are already off to a bad start. Meulin takes one look at Karkat and starts sobbing, which is just not a good sign at all. She unleashes a torrent of signs so quickly that she nearly bowls over John’s cousin as she tries to bandage Meulin’s head.

Karkat visibly blanches at Meulin’s pace, before slowly dragging his right hand over his left. Meulin blinks, signing more slowly. Even then her motions are agitated. John can’t understand a word of sign language but the way Meulin concludes, seeming to tear at the air in front of her, indicates nothing pleasant. 

Karkat grimaces at this, hesitating for a moment before pinching his thumbs and forefingers together and then bringing his hands around and forward in a circle, before opening his hands pleadingly. Meulin’s head hangs in defeat. She holds arms up, one hand cupped in the other, before letting her right hand drop limply.

Karkat walks several steps away as Meulin begins to sob once more. His whole body trembles with rage, and it takes some time before he’s composed himself enough to speak to Ms. Lalonde, who stands patiently nearby.

“I think we should get up there guys.” John says as he watches Karkat trembling.

“Seconded.” Sollux says grimly.

“Motion carried, let’s move out people.” Dave replies, before whistling sharply. His bird appears in an instant, grabbing him by the shoulders and lifting him over the crowd with a casual ease that defies the startled shrieks of the crowd. Sollux does the same a moment later, leaving John to walk through the opening left by the scattering crowd. He arrives just in time to catch the end of the conversation.

“… and you’re sure?” Ms. Lalonde’s voice whispers sharply as John reaches the front of the group.

“Positive. There’s only one fucking Wind God around here.” Karkat snarls. “And the word for destruction is a pretty easy one to catch.”

“Damn it!” Ms. Lalonde spits furiously, turning back to eye the grief stricken girl as she continues to sob throughout Jane’s ministrations. “I was praying this wouldn’t be the case.”

“What wouldn’t be the case?” Everyone turns in surprise as Atticus Egbert walks calmly from the direction of the academy; his white Loftwing perched regally over the doors.

“It seems that Meulin indeed managed to escape the thunderhead.” Ms. Lalonde answers gravely, gazing over at the sobbing girl. “From what she’s told Karkat, she may be the only one to do so.”

“No other survivors?” Mr. Egbert turns to Karkat for confirmation, who seems to straighten his back in spite of everything.

“She certainly doesn’t think so.” Karkat says with a grimace. “And given what she says is responsible for that fucking thing I’m inclined…” He pauses for a moment, taking a shuddering breath before concluding, “I’m inclined to agree.”

“What is responsible for this then?” Mr. Egbert asks, though his expression seems to suggest that he already knows the answer. John feels his blood run cold at the look on his father’s face, a foreboding sense of despair that is only barely hidden behind his usual stern but warm countenance.

“The Wind God.” Karkat looks towards the thunderhead grimly. “Typheus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because it had to be Typheus, naturally. Though I've honestly got some mixed feelings on this particular substitution, since Levias' design was honestly pretty damn great.
> 
> Not much else to say here, besides the obvious. The heroes of this story may be the Lalonde girls, but the men will have their own arc here. What happens on the surface will be felt throughout the sky, and while Roxy's off saving the world John and the boys will be holding down the fort.
> 
> Next chapter: The chase is on!


End file.
